Harry Potter and the Summer After
by FirePhoenix86
Summary: Harry and friends learn that life goes on after war. Starts right after DH, continues through the summer. Better summary in 1st chaper.
1. Their Story

_**A/N2: Ok so I'm editing the posted chapters while writing the new ones also. Beta edited chapters will have a 'be' before the title now.**_

A/N: Ok so, this first chapter is basically a reminder of book seven. It's the trio telling everyone about the last ten months and what they were doing. It's kinda long and every time I edited it, it got longer, so I'm leaving it as it is. If you don't want to read this whole chapter sized version of DH, please at least skim it. There are parts that are **not** DH review. Personally I like re-reading these kinds of things cuz it refreshes the memory after reading so many fanfics. I'd like to also add that my stories will be covering the Nineteen years between the final chapter and the Epilogue. It may be several stories but it should cover the nineteen years. I'll also extend after the nineteen years in my own kinda-AU sort of thing. I will update twice a month (or try too.) I also wrote several chapters before posting so each chapter is ready to post. Reviews are cause for motivation to post faster, hint hint. Enjoy my take on the HP world JKR has left for us to play in!

**SPOILER WARNING!! THIS CHAPTER AND STORY CONTAINS MANY, MANY SPOILERS TO DH! IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE CANON BOOKS DO NOT READ THIS. Now I add, if you haven't read DH, why the bloody h are you reading fan fiction? Get your butts in gear and read the canon dummies! Or at least tell me why you'd read ff and not canon…**

Disclaimer: I own it all!! No, wait, please don't sue, please! I give, it all belongs to her! JKR is the queen! And I am green.

HPDH (749 JKR): "And quite honestly, I've had enough trouble for a lifetime."

* * *

**'be' _Prologue: Their Story_**

Harry turned and began to head to the door of the office. The others followed him down the spiraling staircase. At the bottom he stopped and turned to them.

"Well, I don't know about you guys but I'm tired, I think I'll head up to Gryffindor Tower and get some sleep. Good night," muttered Harry. "See you in the morning."

"Harry, wait! After everything that has happened tonight, you're just going to bed? I mean, you defeated Voldemort! Don't you want to celebrate?" Hermione asked.

"Hermione, I just spent the better part of a year chasing after a man – no, monster, and I'm tired. I don't think I have ever wanted sleep more in my entire life. I just want to sleep. Please, just let me have this. Tomorrow is going to be hell, and if I don't have some rest, I'll likely murder more people tomorrow. So please…just let me be." Harry finished with a whisper. Harry turned and walked away, he luckily passed no one on the way to his dormitory, but when he arrived he realized he did not know the password. He looked up to the fat lady's portrait.

"Mr. Potter? What are you doing here? Why aren't you in the Great Hall?" she asked him inquisitively.

"I'm tired and I just wanted to sleep, this is the only place I will probably be able to get some quiet. But no one told me the password." As Harry mumbled the last few words he turned away. He heard a click and looked back and saw the portrait hole opening up.

"The Gryffindor hero won't need a password for this night. Don't worry, I wont tell if you won't." With that and a wink from the Fat Lady, Harry climbed into the hole and walked through the empty common room, memories assailing him at every turn.

Over there was the spot where Harry frequently lost games of chess to Ron; and over there was his first kiss to Ginny. That was the armchair Harry had been sitting in when he was told he was a Parselmouth; and that corner over there was where Ron, Hermione and Harry talked to Sirius in the fire when Umbridge almost caught his hair. There were so many memories in this one room. After standing and reminiscing for a short while, Harry went up the spiraling staircase to the seventh year dorm and found his bed. Since his duffel bag was no where to be found right now he laid down fully clothed and stared at the canopy of his four poster for a long time before drifting off into the first real deep sleep he had had in years.

Harry woke up a few hours later to a hoarse voice whispering in his ear.

"Master? Master?" croaked Kreacher. Harry bolted upright looking around with his wand pointed out, "Whozair?" he shouted.

"Master, please forgive Kreacher! Kreacher did not mean to startle Master Harry! Bad Kreacher, Bad!" The small shriveled house elf reached a fist up to slam it into his forehead before Harry grabbed the small fist in his own and said, "Kreacher, I forbid you from punishing yourself."

"Thank you master! Thank you! Kreacher does not deserve such kindness," the pitiful looking house elf replied.

"Yes, you do Kreacher, you deserve kindness just as much as any person. Now, not to sound rude, but, what did you wake me up for?" Harry asked.

"Well, sir, Kreacher was asked by a group of Weasleys at the portrait door to Gryffindor to come in and wake you since no one can get in, sir." Kreacher bowed.

"Why can't they get in?" asked Harry getting up, as he started to walk towards the door to the staircase.

"Well, sir, the Fat Lady won't let anyone in. She said, sir, that you needed rest and asked that no one be let in." Kreacher wheezed as he ran to catch up to Harry.

"What? I never said that!" exclaimed Harry, who sped up even more to get to the portrait hole. As he neared it he heard a multitude of voices all yelling different words. He pushed open the portrait and looked outside just as the voices all stopped yelling. He climbed out and looked at the Fat Lady.

"When exactly did I say not to let anyone in?" he asked her with a frown.

"Well, I believe your exact words were, _I'm tired and I just wanted to sleep, this is the only place I will probably be able to get some quiet._ So, I decided that you needed some _undisturbed_ peace and quiet." She said with a smirk. Harry turned and looked at the group of people behind him. It consisted of all the Weasleys, Hermione, and Professor McGonagall.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize that she'd lock everyone out just for me," he said quietly. Hermione stepped forward.

"Harry, it's all right. We knew you were in here and sleeping, so actually, it's a good thing she didn't let others in, and that way we knew you were safe. Professor McGonagall only just got here when you opened the door. We were just going to have her make the Fat Lady open up," she said in a rush. "We were actually trying to guess the new password and Ron and I remembered Kreacher, so we tried calling him to us, and it worked!"

"Ok. I guess we can all go back in now." Harry turned to walk back into the common room when someone cleared his or her throat. Harry turned to see Professor McGonagall looking a little put out.

"Actually Mr. Potter, Kingsley, well I should say the Minister, would like to see you, and Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger, also. Please follow me." She turned and walked away.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at each other shrugged and followed. The rest of the Weasleys in turn followed suit. The walk to the headmaster's office was relatively short, and when they walked in they were surprised at how many people could fit into the office. It looked like half the Order, all of Hogwarts staff; the minister and a small amount of the Auror division were all crowded into the now seemingly small room. All-in-all there was around fifty people in the room. McGonagall sat down behind the large desk and waved her wand, suddenly everyone had a wooden hardback chair sitting behind them except the trio.

"Please sit everyone." She clapped her hands and ten house elves arrived, each with a teapot and platter of cookies above their heads. "Please serve our guests with tea and biscuits. Everyone please be quiet." She shouted over everyone. "Harry, Ron, Hermione will you three please come over here next to my desk." They complied. "We would all like to know where you three have been for the last ten months. What have you been doing? Where have you been staying? And how in Merlin's name did you manage not to get caught the whole time?" she asked them quickly.

Harry glanced at the other two and then looked back at the previous headmaster's portrait. "Professor Dumbledore is it all right to tell them?" he quietly asked the painting.

"Hm, I guess now that the problem has been remedied there should be no problems answering their questions, within reason of course." He aimed a meaningful look at Harry before continuing, "But I will ask that everyone who is not a _senior_ Order member, a Weasley, or a staff member please leave the room. Kingsley if you feel it necessary to keep a few guards go ahead but pick carefully." Dumbledore sat back in his painted chair and twiddled his thumbs and stared out to the room. Kingsley decided that he was safe enough in a room full of Order members that he didn't need a guard. Many people got up from their chairs grumbling about being invited in and then being made to leave. After five minutes, the room had almost emptied the only people left were all the Weasley's, Professors Sprout, Slughorn, Sinistra, Flitwick, and McGonagall, Madams Pomfrey and Hooch, Dedalus Diggle, Elphias Dodge, Aberforth Dumbledore, Sturgis Podmore, Hestia Jones, and Kingsley Shacklebolt. When everyone was seated Dumbledore said, "You may ask away Minerva." She turned to look at Harry and opened her mouth, but before anyone could speak another voice spoke.

"I know you all are here to hear this amazing story, but it's not. I just want to ask that you remember that we are, all three of us, human. We did as we were asked by not telling anyone else, and we want you to know that it was for your own good that we didn't tell you. Ok, ask away." Hermione blushed as she finished speaking, but looked everyone in the eye as if daring them to object.

"Well, I will go first then. Where were you?" asked Professor McGonagall.

"Well, we stayed somewhere different almost every night. There were a few times we stayed a week somewhere, but mostly we changed areas daily. When we first left the wedding, we went to Tottenham Court Road where we changed our fancy clothes to something more muggle—" she broke off when a voice interrupted.

"How did you change? When you left you weren't carrying any bags!" asked Bill.

"That's actually a good question. Hermione did some really fancy wand work and took her beaded bag she was carrying at the wedding and expanded the inside to fit a load of stuff. A tent, all our clothes, a library of books, and so much more." Ron said proudly, making Hermione blush.

"Anyways, we were in a small coffee shop when we were attacked by two more Death Eaters. Harry was…well, he took care of them before we even realized they were there. Then, we went to the old Order Headquarters." Hermione was unsure if she should say the name of the building they stayed at for fear of everyone in the room learning the secret of Grimmauld Place for not everyone in the room had been told the secret by the original secret keeper. "We stayed there for a while before we were forced to move on…"

"Why were you forced to move on?" asked Molly Weasley.

"Well, um, Harry?" Hermione looked to Harry to answer the question.

"We got caught sneaking into the Ministry," was all Harry said to cause the uproar from the entire room. Shouts of 'What?' and 'What were you thinking?' assaulted the trio, who surprisingly were all smiling. They waited calmly for everyone to quiet down before Harry spoke again. "We had to go into the Ministry to get a Dark Artifact that was in the possession of Delores Umbridge. Do you all remember the great cleaning of Headquarters? When we cleaned out all the dark stuff from all the cabinets? And we found a necklace that no one could open? That necklace was important—" Harry was interrupted by a snort from his right.

"Understatement of the year," interrupted Ron, causing Harry to snort. He looked to the portrait of Dumbledore.

"Um, sir, is it ok to just tell them? About what the…dark artifacts were?" Dumbledore looked pensive for a moment and looked about the room.

"I dare say, Harry, that everyone here is trustworthy enough to know. The danger is past, you no longer need to worry about Voldemort finding out you know about his artifacts. But it should be known that what you hear today should be left here, for if another rising dark lord learns of these objects we could very well have another Lord Voldemort to deal with. Continue Harry." Everyone in the room gulped and glanced around.

"Ok, it was very important. Has anyone here heard of…Horcruxes?" there was a collective gasp from a few in the room, but most looked politely confused. "A Horcrux is an object that holds a piece of someone's soul inside it. You all know the story of Voldemort killing my parents and then coming after me and how he 'died' after trying to curse me? Of course you have, what was the point of me asking that? Anyways, the reason he didn't completely die was because he had ripped apart his soul and created a Horcrux before coming to Godrics Hollow. If you have a Horcrux and you are killed, your separate piece of soul will continue to live. If someone does the required magic with it, it restores you to a body. All through my sixth year Professor Dumbledore had been showing me memories of Tom Riddle before, during, and after his schooling. Tom Riddle for those of you who don't know this was Lord Voldemort. _I Am Lord Voldemort_ was an anagram for _Tom Marvolo Riddle_. Riddle was also a half-blood. This is just an FYI though. The memories he was showing me were to help me understand Riddle a little better. If I understood him I might be able to locate his Horcruxes, for he not only made one, he made seven." A gasp shivered through the room. Before anyone could say anything Harry continued. "Yeah, seven Horcruxes. Although by the time that he told me about them a few were already destroyed. The first one was the diary. Tom Riddle's diary, the one that opened the Chamber of Secrets. I destroyed that one in my second year with a Basilisk fang. The only things that can destroy a Horcrux have to destroy it completely with no chance of repair, even magical repair. Basilisk venom is one of only a few things that destroy things irreparably because the only antidote is Phoenix tears. The other Horcrux destroyed was Slytherins' Ring. Voldemort had this idea that he'd be more invincible if he used the magical number seven. He also thought that using something from each four founders was very appealing. We knew that Voldemort was the last piece of soul we had to kill, but we were unsure of what the other four pieces were. We knew of the appeal of the four founders, so we had to try and find Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, and Gryffindors artifacts first. We also figured that the snake Nagini, being as she was always near Voldemort, was also a Horcrux. This is all the information that Dumbledore told me before he died. He also told me to keep all this to myself, and only tell Ron and Hermione. That's why we couldn't tell any of you." Harry stopped there to take a sip of water, and Hermione looked over and saw Mrs. Weasley open her mouth.

"That's what you three have been doing all this time? Destroying pieces of You-Know-Who's soul? That's so…so…I can't believe you three, running off doing the work of…of…Dumbledore!" She turned around and pointed her finger at the man trying to shrink into the back of his portrait. "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU! SENDING OFF MY CHILDREN TO FIGHT THE MOST EVIL MAN IN THE WORLD ON THEIR OWN, AND NOT LETTING THEM TELL AN ADULT! YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF! YOU WERE THEIR HEADMASTER; YOU ARE THE PERSON SUPPOSED TO BE WATCHING OVER THEIR WELL-BEING WHEN THEIR PARENTS AREN'T NEAR! THIS IS THE MOST IRRESPONSIBLE THING I HAVE EVER HEARD OF YOU DOING! IF YOU WEREN'T DEAD I WOULD CURSE YOU RIGHT NOW!" As she took a breath to continue, Mr. Weasley stepped forward and affectionately put his hand on her shoulder. At this tender show of warmth she broke down sobbing on his shoulder. "All that time, we worried and wondered. Where could they be? Are they ok? Are they alive? We were only left with a pathetic excuse; Dumbledore told us to do it, and to not tell you. How were we supposed to react? How could you do this?" She pleaded with the portrait with tears in her eyes. Dumbledore's image looked at the weeping woman being led to a seat by her husband before she collapsed from sorrow.

"Molly, I can only say I am so very sorry that you had to live in constant worry for so long. I could not allow them to tell anyone, for if someone was captured, we could not afford Voldemort finding out that we were on to him and his Horcruxes. If he were to find out we knew and there was someone destroying them, he would have started to make more, or put up guards around the ones he knew were still in their clever hiding places, and if that were to happen Harry, Ron, and Hermione would never have been able to destroy the others. It was crucial to the movement that the secret were not to be let out." He looked so forlorn, almost pleading with her to understand why he did what he did. "I only did what I thought was necessary to keep them safe while on their journey. Please forgive me, Molly, Arthur."

"Albus, I completely understand why you did what you did. I forgive you, and thank you. You are right, if any of us had known, we may have been tortured into telling. Since we didn't know, not only did you protect the three of them on their voyage but it protected us as well. Thank you." Arthur had stepped forward and spoke quietly to the representation of Albus. Dumbledore nodded his appreciation before looking to Harry.

"Harry, I think you should continue with your tale of adventure." The painting suggested causing Harry to snort.

"Adventure? More like tale of boredom. Half the time we sat and talked or thought or went through our research for the millionth time." Harry shrugged and looked at his two best friends. "I think it might be easier if I just tell about everything that happened. I'll start at the beginning. Interrupt if I miss something, but if not than should I just tell it?" he asked.

"Harry, if anyone should tell this, it's you. We'll be quiet, or I will, Hermione might not—" Ron stopped abruptly when Hermione smacked him upside the head. He looked at her repentantly, but she merely glared. Harry chuckled and turned to the group in front of him.

"Well, the day before the wedding we were visited by Rufus Scrimgeour because Professor Dumbledore's will had mentioned us. He had come to give us the stuff that Dumbledore left us. One thing he left me was Gryffindor's sword. Because it was a founder's artifact the ministry wouldn't allow me to take possession of the sword. But the thing is, the sword had absorbed the basilisk venom from when I killed it and was one of the only objects that could destroy the Horcruxes. He left Ron his Put-outer, which was able to find Hermione and me when we said his name. He left the book The Tales of Beedle the Bard to Hermione, I'm not sure why." Harry glance at the wizened old wizard in the painting, who then winked. Harry smiled. "He also left me the first snitch I had ever caught. I guess because it was sentimental.

"Well, we left the wedding after Kingsley's patronus warning and ended up in Tottenham Court Road. We were in a café and two death eaters showed up, we took care of them and obliviated their memories. After that we decided to go to my house." He stopped to take another sip of water, when Kingsley finally spoke.

"Did you know that the secret could have been compromised by Snape? That Moody had put up precautionary jinxes and spells in place there?" He had been wondering this since Hermione had spoken up about the old headquarters a quarter of an hour earlier, but as the topic of conversation had been changed he didn't ask then.

"Yes, and yes. We knew that Snape could have told the location, but we needed a place to go and fast. We knew that the jinxes had been put up but didn't know what they were. I've got to say they gave us quite a fright. But Hermione did a spell that told there was no one else there. The next morning I woke up and decided to explore. I found Sirius's room, and then I saw, as we were leaving his room, his brother's door." Harry remembered something and turned to look at his former headmaster's picture and said, "Sir, did you know about the locket? That night, we thought we found Slytherin's locket, it wasn't the real one." Dumbledore looked at Harry shocked to his oil based core.

"It wasn't real? What do you mean?" he whispered.

"After you died, I went up to your body and found the necklace next to you. Inside was a piece of paper. Basically it said that the owner of the fake locket found out about Voldemort's secret and found the real locket and intended to destroy it, in the hopes that Voldemort would be one step closer to death when he came upon his match. It was signed R.A.B. We searched for so long looking for someone with those initials, but no one we found fit the description we had come up with. Until that day at…my house. R.A.B…Regulus Arcturus Black. The note also said that R.A.B. didn't expect himself to be alive much longer. We assumed that since someone had found out Tom's secret, R.A.B. had to be close to Tom, as in a death eater. As soon as we realized that R.A.B. was Sirius's brother, I called Kreacher to me. I talked with Kreacher and learned his story. Basically, long story short, Regulus found out and got Kreacher to go to the island with him and he sent Kreacher back home with the order to destroy the locket." Harry was getting winded so he paused for another sip of water.

"So, Kreacher destroyed one of the…Horcruxes?" asked Ginny clearly taken aback by this new piece of information about the house elf they all despised.

"No, he couldn't. He didn't know how to open it. He was sure that was how to demolish the jewelry, but he couldn't open it. So it was placed in a cabinet, shoved behind a bunch of dark things to help protect its location. We found it later and threw it out," Another collective gasp escaped everyone. "But I had remembered Mundungus Fletcher nicking a bunch of junk to sell. I asked Kreacher to find Dung and bring him back. While we waited, Remus came and told us about Tonks being pregnant." At this Harry stopped to take a breath and had to blink away the tears. "I yelled at him, told him he was a coward for leaving his wife and child, and for the stupid reason that he was a Werewolf. He said my father would have wanted him with me, but I think my father would have wanted his friend to be at home with his wife and child and not…not risking his life for me unnecessarily." Harry finished with a whisper. Everyone had tears in their eyes at the sight of Harry's sorrow. "No parent should have to leave their child willingly, and Remus was being reckless. He pulled his wand on me and shot a spell at me and left and went back to Tonks."

"He pulled his wand on you? Seriously!? Sweet, calm, patient Remus cursed you?" Minerva was dumbfounded. Harry chuckled.

"It was one of the last times I saw him, except for after Teddy was born and he asked me to be Godfather to his son. And right before the battle." A moments silence occurred while everyone remembered Remus and Tonks. Harry had gotten up and walked to a window and was silently fighting the battle to keep from crying. He did not trust himself to speak again yet.

"What happened to Kreacher? Did he come back?" someone asked from the back of the room. Hermione looked to Harry who hadn't pulled himself together enough to continue so she decided to let him take his time.

"Well, Kreacher showed up later with Mundungus. We got Mundungus to admit to nicking the locket and trying to sell it, but a ministry worker confiscated it. We asked who…and it was…"

"A woman who looked like a toad." Finished Harry from his corner.

"NO! That horrid Um-bitch woman took it!?" shouted Ginny.

"Ginny, language." Mrs. Weasley muttered, although no one really heard her. When Ginny announced who had the locket a massive explosion of doubt and suspicion erupted from everybody. It seems that no one liked the toad-woman.

"Yes, Umbridge had the Horcrux locket. That was when we decided to break into the ministry to see if she had it there. We took to skulking around the entrance under an invisibility cloak learning as much as we could, which happened to be a lot. After about a month we decided to go in, we had taken Moody's supply of Polyjuice Potion after he died. We took the identities of Reg Cattermole, Mafalda Hopkirk, and Albert Runcorn." For each name he pointed at himself and the others to show who acted as whom. "It was a long hour, but we ended up getting split up. Hermione was brought to the court rooms with Umbridge to be the court scribe for the blood trials of the day. Ron was intercepted bya death eater, named Yaxley who said that his office was raining and that if it wasn't cleared up fast Reg's wife, who was in for a blood trial that day, would be found guilty a lot faster. I was left alone as Runcorn. Who apparently wasn't well liked, right Mr. Weasley?" Harry smirked.

"That was you who gave me that warning that day; 'Arthur, do you know that they are watching your every move?' That was YOU wasn't it!?" Mr. Weasley looked stunned.

"Yep. Sorry, I didn't realize I was impersonating someone so…horrible. It kinda helped though, if I had impersonated someone who wasn't trusted, it would have made my job a bit harder. I had to break into Umbridge's office to search for the locket. It wasn't in the office so I decided to go looking for the other two and get out of there. I went to the lifts and went to the court rooms. Hermione was there near Umbridge behind a Patronus shield. I ended up stunning Umbridge and the other court dunce and shouting my Patronus at the Dementors. Hermione did a recreation of the locket and grabbed the original and we left with a bunch of innocent muggle-borns. We got to the Atrium and met with Ron. We ended up being cornered and somehow we all escaped. But at the last secondYaxleygrabbed onto Hermione's arm and apperated with us to our hideout. Immediately, Hermione apperated us away from there, but in that process Ron got Splinched." At this comment the Weasleys all flinched or gasped. "When we landed again, we were in a forest. Hermione tried healing him the best she could, and then placed several protective charms around our campsite. We stayed there in that forest for a week while Ron recovered.

"We had gotten the real Horcrux that day, but we had no idea how to destroy it. So we worked on how we could destroy it and where the others could be. It took a few months of moving around either nightly or weekly, depending on how safe we felt there. Well, after a few months we were getting pretty irate with each other and one thing led to another and Ron ended up…leaving." Harry stopped there and looked to his friend for approval to give the answer to the question being asked. Ron looked at him for a short moment and nodded his consent. Harry nodded back his thanks.

"Ron thought that I had more of a plan, and he was upset that we didn't have regular meals. You know Ron; he could eat a Hippogriff in one sitting if he really tried." The room chuckled. "We had also not heard much about anyone for quite a while, and then heard some people who were hiding out in the forest near where we were saying things like how Ginny, Neville, and Luna had tried to get Gryffindor's Sword from Snape's office. Ron was worried about his family, and I completely understand that, I was worried about all of you also. When he heard that about Ginny, and the kind of punishment they had been giving out at the school, well, he needed to see someone from his family. So he left, and went to Shell Cottage.

"Well, that was a few weeks before Christmas. We didn't know where he was, but we couldn't spend all that time in one spot waiting for him to return, besides, with all our protective spells in place he would never find it unless we brought them down or him to us. While he was gone we went to Godrics Hollow to visit with Bathilda Bagshot but it seems that Voldemort got to her before we could, she was dead and his snake was there. We barely escaped with our lives, but in the escape Hermione let off a spell and it connected with my wand and broke it. We got back to our tent safely, but we didn't learn anything at Godrics Hollow, except for seeing the house, the graves, and the sign…we stayed in the forest for awhile." Harry took a drink of water and ate a cookie before continuing.

"Well, after a few weeks I was on watch duty for the night. Hermione was sleeping, and I was sitting in the door to the tent. I saw something in the trees and when I looked closer, it was a Patronus, a doe. I didn't know whose it was, but I didn't feel any…bad feelings toward it. I knew it was friendly. So I…I followed it." Harry chuckled at everyone's shocked expressions.

"Did you learn nothing from Moody? Constant Vigilance! What were you thinking? Did you at least wake Hermione?" Ginny looked furious at Harry for doing something to put himself into harms way.

"Yes, I learned constant, never ceasing, vigilance, and no, I did not wake Hermione. It was moving quite fast and if I was going to follow it I needed to hurry. I followed it to a small hollow that had a small pond in it, and that's where the doe disappeared. I was left alone and, like an idiot, couldn't remember my way back.

"Well, anyways, when I looked into the pond, low and behold, there was Gryffindor's sword. Under the water and ice. I knew I had to get it and fast. So…I undressed and cracked the ice with a Diffindo spell and jumped in. I know, I know! What was I thinking? I was thinking, that sword was the only thing we could use to destroy the Horcruxes." At this remark many people were in awe at the depth in which the story was going. If the three of them hadn't lived this adventure they were sure no one would have believed it. "I jumped in foolishly wearing only a few articles of clothing and the locket, and as I neared the sword, the necklace fought back trying to choke me. I thought I was a goner, but suddenly I was being pulled out of the water and the necklace was yanked off me. I looked up and there was Ron." Harry chuckled. He was actually kind of enjoying watching the faces of everyone when he shocked and surprised them around every twist and turn. Ron and Hermione were obviously enjoying it also.

"I got dressed and warmed up a bit. He had also, conveniently, grabbed the sword when he was saving my life. So now we had the means to destroy the damn thing. I decided that since Ron had pulled it out of the water he should have the honors. I opened the Horcrux and it let out its defense, which was to bank on the fears of the destroyers mind. Ron had been worried, well I won't go into detail but it played on his fears. Finally, he brought the sword down onto it and…demolished it. We walked back to the tent and Hermione ended up trying to kill Ron for a few minutes, and then gave him the cold shoulder for a few weeks.

"Since we had finally ruined the locket and the Horcrux was gone, we focused on finding the next Horcrux. For a few weeks we spent time researching our notes and Ron tried to get that radio show about me on, since he had missed the last password, he had to guess, and it took him a few weeks. Finally he got it one night. It was so heartening to hear that we weren't the only ones rebelling, it made us work harder.

"But one night everything almost came to an end." Harry stopped for a drink, and also, a little bit for dramatic effect.

"The night you all came to Shell Cottage," answered Bill.

"Yep. We were sitting in our tent and Ron had told us about the taboo on Voldemort's name, but I accidentally let it slip anyways. Suddenly we were surrounded by Snatchers. Hermione hit me in the face with a stinging hex, and then we were brought outside. I was unrecognizable and so I used the name Vernon Dudley. Yeah, lots of brains it took to think that one up, but lucky me they had a Dudley who worked in Ministry, so it bought us some time. Hermione used the name Penelope Clearwater," Percy looked up at this with a look of shock and horror. "And Ron tried to use Stan Shunpike. But the snatchers were also Death Eaters, so they knew he wasn't Stan. Eventually, they figured out who we were, and we ended up in Malfoy Manor." Stunned silence reined long and clear for several moments, before Slughorn asked, "How'd you get out of that one alive?" Harry paused before answering.

"Dobby," was his answer. He looked forlornly at Hermione and she took over the story.

"Snape had sent the sword to be kept in the Lestrange's Gringotts vault after the near loss of it to some students." Ginny looked guiltily at them. "Bellatrix was there that night and saw the sword. She thought we had broken into her vault and taken it, she wanted to know how we got in before she would let them call Voldemort. In the group of captives the snatchers had gotten was Griphook the Goblin. So she sent Harry, Ron, Griphook, and Dean Thomas, who had also been captured with Griphook, to the dungeons. They decided to keep me out and torture me to get me to answer how we got the sword. They decided to bring Griphook up to answer them if it was the real one, because I had said that it was a fake. Surely a goblin would tell them if it was the real one or not. Harry had made sure that Griphook knew not to tell them the truth. So he lied and…well, everything after that happened so fast, I'm not sure how we escaped." She looked to Ron and Harry. Ron glanced at Harry before continuing the story.

"Well, I had some lights in the Put-outer left over so I released them so we had some light. Then all of a sudden Dobby was there. Harry had Dobby take Dean, Olivander and Luna, who were both already in the dungeons when we got there, to Shell Cottage and then come back for us. He did, but before he came back Pettigrew came down, when he saw the lights on and the others missing he grabbed Harry by the throat and began to choke him. Harry said something and it made Pettigrew hesitate and his silver hand turned on him and killed him." The room gasped. Harry moved slightly.

"So, Pettigrew is dead, finally?" Molly Weasley asked quietly. Ron looked at her and nodded.

"He died because he had a life debt owed to me because I saved his sorry arse from Sirius and Remus the night he was revealed." The room was shocked that Harry had saved the man who had aided in his parents' murder but Harry didn't offer any more information so they didn't ask. Ron looked around before continuing.

"So, we left through the door Pettigrew had left open and went upstairs. Just as we got there we heard Griphook say the sword was a fake. Bellatrix calmed down and pressed her dark mark. We ran in and disarmed a bunch of people. I grabbed Hermione and apperated away while Harry grabbed Griphook and the sword just as Dobby showed up and whisked Harry away. But before we had completely left, Lestrange threw a dagger and it hit Dobby. By the time we got to Bill and Fleur's Dobby was too far gone to save. He died in Harry's arms. Harry dug the grave himself, and we buried him there." Once again a moment of silence for their lost friend was silently agreed upon. Harry had composed himself and he turned to the group once again ready to tell his tale.

"We spent the time at Shell Cottage planning with Griphook our next foolish mission: Breaking into the Lestranges' vault in Gringotts." At this comment the group looked shocked and amazed that the three could be so stupid as to break into the Goblin bank. It was pure madness.

"I know, I know, madness, I know. Believe me, I knew the dangers. But we had a goblin in the house and with the way Bellatrix was acting about how we had supposedly gotten into her vault, I thought there might be something we needed there. So after Griphook was better and our plans were settled, we set off. Hermione was disguised as Bellatrix and she even had her wand, she had disarmed her right before we left the Manor. Ron was transfigured into looking Romanian, and Griphook and I were under the invisibility cloak. We got to Diagon Alley and suddenly this Death Eater named Travers was talking to Hermione as Bellatrix, and was coming with us to Gringotts. At the doors I had to confound the guards so that they didn't notice the disguises go through the doors. I also had to Imperious a goblin and Travers before we could get down to the vault. We got through the doors to the tracks and heard a commotion in the lobby. We knew they knew something was up, so we had to hurry. We got in a cart and left the death eater there at the door still under the spell." Harry took a deep breath and continued. " I remember the first time going to Gringotts. 'Thief you have been warned beware; Of finding more than treasure there. We went through this waterfall thing that erased Hermione's and Ron's disguises. We got to the vault it was guarded by a dragon and there was a spell on everything so that if we touched anything it burned and multiplied."

"The Gemino and Flagrante curse," Bill said in awe.

"Yeah, that's what Griphook said. Anyways, I saw the Horcrux sitting above our reach and reached for it with the sword, somehow a bunch of treasure exploded into our space and burned us all and kept multiplying. I grabbed the cup and we spilled out of the vault at Death Eater and goblin feet. We all fought and I broke the bonds holding the dragon down, we jumped on and it flew out with us on its back." Charlie looked so exited he was practically jumping out of his seat. "We flew on the dragon till it got close enough to a lake for us to jump in. When we got to the shore I had a vision and I knew that Voldemort had been told about our escape and knew that we took the Horcrux. To say he was furious would be the understatement of a century. He decided to think about the locations of the Horcruxes, we didn't know where the last one was so I paid attention to his thoughts. He thought of the island in the cave, the Gaunt house, the diary he knew was destroyed, the vault, and…Hogwarts." Shouts of 'Where?' and 'Here?' from various people. Ginny looked at the group of storytellers.

"That's why you came here. It was the diadem, wasn't it?" she asked.

"Yep. Ravenclaw's lost diadem. I needed to find it here so we apparated to Hogsmeade. And the Caterwauling charms went off. We hid but I ended up sending off a Patronus to protect us from the Dementors that were called. Suddenly, we were dragged into a building and told to be quiet. Aberforth Dumbledore convinced the death eaters that it was his goat Patronus and not a stag they saw, idiots. Anyways, he called Neville through his sister's portrait and Neville came and brought us to the Room of Requirement. Well, Luna brought me to see the bust of Ravenclaw in the Ravenclaw common room. I saw it and immediately knew where I had seen it. Last year, I had to hide my potions book so I ran to the Room of Requirement and paced thinking of a place to hide something. I opened the door to fine mountains of junk and forbidden items in a cathedral sized room. I had run through looking for a place I could remember and placed my book in a cabinet with the bust of an ugly, old warlock on top and to make it even more distinguishable I place a wig and an old tiara on top of it.

"When I saw the diadem, I knew it was the tiara I had seen in that room. So I knew where I had to go, I just needed Ron and Hermione. So, when Professor McGonagall and the other professors knew I was there and they ran one way to protect the castle and to get the students out. I knew Voldemort was coming and Snape had left, so it was up to them to get the students out. I went the other way to find Ron and Hermione. They had found a way to destroy the cup we stole while I was gone so we only had to fins the diadem and destroy it, then destroy Voldemort's snake. We got everyone in the Room of Requirement out, and then we went into it again, to the new appearance of the Room of Lost Things. We were searching for it when Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle showed up. We dueled and Crabbe sent off a Fiendfyre spell which killed him. Ron grabbed Hermione and Goyle on a broomstick, and I grabbed Malfoy and the diadem. The Fiendfyre touched the diadem, which coincidently destroyed it. We got out safely enough and Malfoy and Goyle ran off, Crabbe wasn't so lucky.

"We knew the snake was with Voldemort and I used our connection to locate him. He was in the Shrieking Shack. So we went to the Whomping Willow and went down the passage to the shack. We watched as Voldemort spoke to Snape and then had his snake attack Snape and kill him. Voldemort left the shack and I went over to Snape before he died. He told me to take his memories, and to look into his eyes. As he looked into my eyes…he died. I went back to the castle after Voldemort called off his minions for an hour. I watched the memories. I won't go into them all, basically, when Professor Dumbledore kept saying that Snape was on our side and he trusted him with his life, he was telling the truth. Snape really was on our side the whole time." The crowd scoffed and loudly disagreed, reminding Harry that it was Snape that killed their leader.

"Let me finish, please. Dumbledore and Snape made an agreement that since Dumbledore was dying from the curse on his hand he wanted Snape to kill him if the opportunity arose. His death was all planned out by himself. Snape was supposed to keep a low profile but still keep supplying the Order with stuff. The idea to get me out of the Dursley's was actually Snape's idea. He told Dung and made Dung say it was his idea for the seven Harry's. Then Snape went back and told Voldemort the night we were moving, but not the whole plan. The other memories were about my…mother. He, Snape, was in love with her. The doe Patronus belonged to Snape, he brought the sword—"

"Wait, he was in love with your mum!? When did that happen?" McGonagall was baffled.

"Well, he grew up near my mum and aunt when they were little. He was kind of her friend and he told her about being a witch before she got her letter. He also told her about Hogwarts, and Dementors and things. They stayed friends through school until one day he was in a fight with my dad and his friends and Snape called her a mudblood. She said she didn't want to be friends with an up and coming Death Eater. He loved her and never told her and he never stopped loving her. He died wanting to look into her eyes… that's why he made me look at him as he died." Everyone looked taken aback at the truth about the man they all despised.

"So he was working for us all along? And we never…we never knew." Professor Sprout looked disheartened. "He died with everyone in the world hating him…" she and McGonagall both looked like they were going to cry. After yet another moment of silence for their fallen comrade Harry started once again.

"Well, I'm not sure the significance of it but when he showed his doe patronus to Dumbledore, it made Dumbledore positive of his innocence." Harry stopped and looked at the portrait when the occupant cleared his throat.

"Harry, I can answer that question. Your mother's patronus was a doe. At first Severus's patronus was a large bat." At this Ron snorted. "You see Severus and Lily both had a strong desire to learn the Patronus charm, so, like you Harry, they both learned, or started to learn it, in their third year. I believe they made their first Corporal Patronus in their fourth year. After Lily stopped talking to Severus in their 5th year, his patronus changed to a doe to match your mothers. His never went back to the bat form it began as, but stayed as the doe even after Lily died." Dumbledore sat back and picked a lemon drop out of his pocket and popped it into his mouth.

"That's how he got the sword to us. He put it into the pond, and had me follow the doe to the pond…" Harry paused, but was interrupted by Ginny.

"Wait, he caught us trying to take it and punished us for it, yet he just gave it to you? Why!?" asked Ginny.

"Don't you remember, he wasn't alone when he caught you? One of the Carrows was with him. He also only gave you detention with Hagrid. You got off lucky, besides the one you almost got, was a fake. The real one was hidden." Harry told her. She looked shocked.

"How'd you know so much about that night?" she asked him. Harry shrugged.

"I heard from Dean what happened. Then I saw a memory about the sword from Snape. Anyways, to continue the story, one of the last memories, was one of Dumbledore telling Snape that I was a Horcrux and not to tell me until it was time to face him." At this new breakthrough, gasps, shouts, and sobs rose through the room.

"Does this mean that since your still here that You-Know-Who could come back, again?" Percy asked skeptically when the room calmed down.

"No, I took care of it. No, let me speak. This is hard, so please, no interruptions. When I learned this information, I knew I had to…die." Many tears were being shed at this, for no one believed that Harry could have been so selfless. "So I left the school. I was under the invisibility cloak the whole time and I didn't stop to talk to anyone inside the school, because I knew that if I told someone, they would either try and stop me or try and follow or I would be able to pull myself away from them. The only person I spoke too was Neville. For some reason I felt like he should know that we had to kill the snake. Someone besides Ron and Hermione needed to know. I didn't tell him why, just that it needed to happen. So I covered back up and went into the forest. I followed some death eaters to the Acromantula cove. I placed my invisibility cloak and wand in my robe, and showed myself. He then proceeded to execute me." Harry finished this part of his tale in a quiet, monotone voice.

Hermione, Ginny, Fleur, Molly, Minerva and several others were openly crying. The rest were staring at Harry as if they had never seen him before. Harry, hearing their gut-wrenching sobs, knew that if he sat there under everyone's scrutiny he wouldn't be able to continue so he got up and walked to the window once again. He knew he was so close to breaking down and crying at that moment, he didn't know how to stay in control of his emotions. The last thing he wanted to do was to cry in front of what seemed like everyone in the whole world who mattered to him.

Suddenly, Molly stood up and walked over to Harry. She turned him to face her and enveloped him in a motherly hug; tears falling from her face were dampening his shoulder. He suddenly had to fight very hard to control the ever-growing lump in his throat from bursting forth and making him break in front of everyone. She held him this way for several moments, before breaking away and looking into his watery, emerald eyes.

"Harry, you are as much my son as any of them. I love you as my child. I can't believe that you would sacrifice your life to give all a chance. It's the most selfless thing I have ever heard of. Why you would do that, when half of the country was out to get you and treating you the way they did, I have no idea. You didn't have to do anything yet you almost gave your life for us all. How could someone be so…noble, so altruistic…" She stopped and looked at him with eyes that held so much love in them. He had never felt more loved by anyone than at that very moment. She hugged him again and whispered in his ear, "Thank you." At those two, heart-wrenching words, his resolve broke and tears poured down his face as he sobbed into his surrogate mothers arms. He had never had a mother's shoulder to cry on, and he found that it felt good.

She held him as he wept, for he wept for those who were lost. Fred, Remus, Tonks, Colin and so many more gave their lives just as he had, yet he had lived. He wept because the world was cruel this way. He did not weep for himself, but for those he knew were gone. He knew that what he had done was the ultimate sacrifice and that the loved ones he had lost would never be there for him again, to make him laugh, cheer him up, or just annoy him as only a good friend can do. He cried harder than he had in his entire life because he was alive, and they weren't. They would never laugh, or rejoice in their child's laughter. Colin would never become the famous photographer he had aspired to be. Remus would never watch his son grow old, the son he had been so exited for when he was born. Tonks would never get to watch her baby boy grow up and use his Metamorphmagus skills to get himself into trouble at school. Fred would never prank anyone ever again or see the joy in a child's face when a prank was accomplished. Harry wept for them all, and for a long time. His sorrow caused everyone in the head office to break down that day.

Finally, after Harry had cried all his tears away, he pulled away from Molly and stood up. He looked out the window for a few moments before turning to the room.

"I need to finish this. It's almost done, so I hope you can bear with me for a few more minutes." A murmur of consent rippled through the room. "When I died…or whatever had happened, I went to a place, it sort of looked like Kings Cross Station. I was standing there and Professor Dumbledore showed up. He told me what had happened and then told me that…I had a choice. I could go on, where I do not know, or I could come back and finish the fight. Then he said something I'll never forget: _Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and, above all, those who live without love. By returning, you may ensure that fewer souls are maimed, fewer families torn apart. If that seems to you a worthy goal, then we say good-bye for the present. _I decided that since so many families were already torn apart, so many were already dead, that I owed it to all of you to come back and finish it so that no more had to die.

"I woke up only a moment after the curse had hit me, I didn't move and I barely breathed. I was worried he would come over and check me. But instead he sent over one of his underlings to check me. Fortunately for me he sent Narcissa Malfoy. She was worried about her son, who was up at the castle. She asked me if he was alive and I said yes, she turned around and announced that I was dead. They all cheered and what-not. Voldemort levitated me and bounced me around and slammed me into things. Then he made Hagrid carry me out to the school. The rest you know." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Now that you all know this, I will ask one thing of you all. Please, stop saying You-Know-Who and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Professor Dumbledore always said fear of a name only increases the fear of the thing itself. Voldemort is dead. If you find you can't say his name, call him Tom Riddle, it was his name also. It's childish and stupid to call him by those silly names, yes we all know who he is, but it would make you sound braver if you just said Voldemort. It was just a name. Now, Ron, Hermione, and I will answer any questions you may have."

A few people raised their hands slowly. Harry looked at his friends, sighed, and looked back at the crowd. He pointed to Dedalus Diggle.

"Yes, Mr. Diggle, go ahead." Harry said.

"When you were fighting You-Know—"

"Damn it! What did I just say? Say-his-name! I refuse to answer anyone's question unless you all say his name before your question. Ron and Hermione won't answer them either. If you have a question you'll have to say his name. Now, go on Mr. Diggle. Say his name then you can ask your question, and if your question has his name in it say it then too." Harry burst out.

"Very well, V-Vol," the Dedalus sighed, "Voldemort." He shuddered.

"Very good, continue." Harry said in a calmer tone.

"Well Mr. Potter, When you and…V-Voldemort were fighting, you were both saying things about a wand of Elder. What exactly was that all about?" Dedalus blushed when he saw Harry scrutinize him.

"Well, I will tell you now, there were a few things I left out of this whole story, for everyone's safety. The origins of the Elder wand for one thing. The Elder wand is the Wand of Destiny, or more commonly know as the Deathstick. It has a history lasting a very long time. It is passed from wizard to wizard by being won in a duel. In this case, it was Dumbledore's, who right before he was killed, was disarmed by Draco Malfoy. When Dumbledore was buried it was there with him. Voldemort had heard of the power of this wand and knew it was Dumbledore's, who had won it off Grindelwald. So he went to the tomb of Dumbledore and broke into it and stole the wand. Since Snape had killed Dumbledore, Voldemort thought the wand recognized Snape as its wielder so he killed Snape to become possessor. Problem was he didn't know about Draco disarming Dumbledore, nor me disarming Draco. So I am the true wielder of the Elder wand, and it would not fight against me. That is how I won the battle. You all should also know that I intend to break the cycle of this destructive piece of history. If I die of natural causes it will not be able to be passed on, which stops its powers. I used it to repair my own wand and will either destroy it myself or hide it and make myself its secret-keeper. Next question." Harry knew that to tell everyone about the deathly hallows would be disastrous, so he decided to not tell anyone, outside of his closest friends. Hestia Jones timidly raised her hand. Hermione pointed to her and told her to ask her question.

"Um, well, I was wondering what the three of you will be doing now that he's gone?" she asked. Harry looked at her curiously.

"Well, I'm not quite sure yet. It only happened, what, eight hours ago? I'm not sure what I want to do anymore. Hermione, Ron, do you guys know?" he asked them. They both shook their heads.

Questions went on for another quarter of an hour before they tapered off. Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood up and looked at everyone.

"Well, now that you all know the whole story, know this…after I speak with the minister about this, I will probably have to give a press conference about what we have been doing so," at this he looked toward Kingsley who nodded at him. "I will tell people what they need to know. So please don't talk about what we just told you. Particularly about the Horcruxes, if that information were to get out to a new rising dark lord, we could be in very big trouble." Harry turned to McGonagall and said, "We would like to go back to a quiet place with the rest of the Weasley's please. We want to spend some time with them." She nodded and said, "Go ahead. The Gryffindor common room will be kept just for you guys and anyone you say can be let in for a few days. Anyone left over can share with a different house. You may go now, tell the Fat lady what I said and a short list of people who can come in if you want. Would you like me to send some house elves up with dinner?"

"Er, well, I think Kreacher can handle it tonight." Harry responded. They all got up to leave the room. As Harry, Ron, and Hermione made it to the door, they heard clapping. They slowly turned around and saw the Order, staff, and the portraits all applauding them most with tears in their eyes. Embarrassed, they left the room hurriedly and with bright red faces.

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Any quotes are from the cannon of Harry Potter books 1-7 by J.K. Rowling. No copy write infringing intended.

A.N: Well, tell me what you think…wait, maybe you should wait until a few chapters have gone by to judge it…oh heck, tell me anyways. Just remember, this was only a review chapter to refresh your memories! It does get better! thanks to Aliey for bettaing my first chapter! Yay for betas!


	2. Purple Green and Blue

AN: Newly edited chapters will have **'be'** before the title.

Disclaimer: sadly I do not own the HP world; it belongs to JKR and Bloomsbury publishing. The lucky bastards! J/k! lol! I love you JKR for inventing HP!

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**'be' _Purple, Green, and Blue_**

Harry, Hermione, and the Weasley's all trudged up to the Gryffindor common room. It was mid-afternoon and none of them had eaten anything since the day before, the trio even longer. When they got to the common room and told the Fat Lady the headmistress's orders she set a new password for them only. Harry called Kreacher to the room and asked him to bring a light lunch for everyone from the kitchens. The Weasley's were all astounded at how much of a turnaround Kreacher had made since they had all last seen him. He bowed to Harry and called him master, and never once did the insults blood-traitors or mudblood leave his mouth, in fact he didn't even mutter to himself anymore. After he brought up enough food to feed seven Weasley families, he bowed to Harry and left with a crack.

Harry looked around the room and looked at his friends. The loss of Fred was loud and clear in the room. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had not touched their food, but were staring, red-eyed, into space, her head on his shoulder silently crying. Charlie, Bill, and Fleur were sitting together eating slowly at the table Harry usually sat at to do his homework. They weren't speaking but Harry could tell that the brothers had cried recently and were trying to stay sane together. Fleur simply looked lost wanting to comfort her husband but not knowing how. Ron and Hermione, now that their story had been told could finally show their emotions and were comforting each other quietly in the corner, softly crying and sharing their thoughts. Percy and Ginny were sitting together on a couch in the center of the room. Percy, while crying himself, was also comforting Ginny, who was sobbing noiselessly onto his shoulder. The last member of the family Harry observed was the most heartbreaking. George was staring at his hands, his dry eyes wide and blank, and his mouth slightly open. He was obviously in severe shock. Harry didn't know where to go or what to do. The rest of the family seemed to be so consumed in their own grief and mourning that they seemed to have forgotten the one person who was probably hurt the most by the whole situation. Harry had never dealt with a person in shock before but George looked so forlorn sitting there all by himself, he knew that he had to do something. So he walked over and sat down next to him.

Harry looked at his friend and put his hand on his shoulder. At the physical contact George jumped slightly, but the touch brought him out of his reverie. He looked at Harry, and Harry's heart broke. George saw Harry start to tear up and it broke down the dam of emotion and pain that George was feeling. Suddenly, it all hit him at once and the pain was like that of running headlong into a brick wall. At Harry's tears, George broke down and began crying. He progressively got louder, and Harry knew that he had to do something so he did the first thing that came to mind. He hugged him. He grabbed onto George like he was his own brother and he let him cry on his shoulder. George, not fully realizing who he was holding onto, held Harry in a death grip and sobbed into his shoulder. After a few moments George let go and put his head in his hands and his elbows on his knees crying and rocking back and forth. Suddenly he screamed. He screamed so hard with such agony that his family finally looked up from their own sorrow and remembered Fred's twin. They all stood up simultaneously and ran to him. Harry had got down on his knees in front of George right before he screamed and was the first one in front of George. George was screaming again, and the sound was like listening to pure agony, worse than the Cruciatus curse. His family, seeing his pain, didn't know what to do. Harry reached up and grabbed George's hands and pulled them away from his head, he then grabbed George's face and made him look into his eyes.

"George, I want you to listen to me, ok? Are you listening?' Harry asked him, George nodded. He was still sobbing almost uncontrollably. "George, listen to me, you have to calm down; you'll hurt yourself if you don't. Do you understand?" Harry asked him slowly and firmly. George tried to start rocking again, but Harry had a firm grip on him and wouldn't let him. Harry and George locked eyes for several moments, while George calmed down enough so that Harry could let go of his head. "Your dad's going to sit down next to you, ok?" Harry asked him and George nodded mutely. Arthur looked at Harry and nodded his thanks before sitting down on the couch next to George. He pulled his second youngest son to him and hugged him tight to let George know that his dad was there. Everyone was crying silently surrounding the couch and sitting on chairs, leaving the couch to the father and son.

"Sshhh, sh, sh. It's going to be all right son. I know everything looks bleak right now, but he wouldn't have wanted you to give up on life for him. He went bravely and nobly. I'm very proud of him and you should be too. He would have wanted you to go on. He wouldn't have wanted you to give up." Arthur was softly saying soothing sounds and trying to comfort his inconsolable child.

"It hurts so badly. It hurts…what am I going to do? I…I feel like…a part of me is…gone. I don't…" George broke off into a new bout of heart wrenching, body wracking sobs. All Arthur could do was to softly talk to George and try to calm him down. Ten minutes passed of Arthur's soft murmurs and George's steadily quieting sniffs. Soon, George was sound asleep in his father's arms. When Arthur realized that George was asleep he pried himself out his grip and stood up, he then bent over and swiftly picked up his full grown son and carried him to the boys dormitory.

He returned a few minutes later, staring at the ground and walking slowly. Losing a child was one thing, but losing a child who left a twin behind was a whole different deal. He now not only had to stay strong for his wife and children but also had to stay doubly strong for George, for if George broke and gave up, his family would lose another child and brother also. As he walked into the room he looked up and saw his family watching him.

"He's asleep. In the first year dormitory. I…I think someone should go the infirmary and get something that will help us all sleep tonight." Arthur looked so forlorn and as Harry looked around him he realized that no one wanted to leave the safety of the common room, or have someone else leave.

"Kreacher!" Harry said firmly. A loud crack sounded through the room as a small elf bowed.

"Yes, master Harry? You called Kreacher?" he croaked.

"Kreacher, go the Hospital wing and bring back about…eleven doses of Sleeping Draught back here, please. If Madam Pomfrey asks, say it's for the Weasley family, ok? Thanks." Harry had stooped to the elf's level, and he rose as he finished speaking. The elf agreed and left with a pop.

"Thank you Harry, I don't want anyone separated for even a moment right now. Oh dear, my poor Georgie, my poor Fred." Molly moaned and laid her head back to rest on the back of the sofa her tears streaming back into her hair.

Harry walked over to the couch where Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Percy were sitting, and sat in an armchair. Percy was holding his head in his hands with a handkerchief to his eyes, silently shaking. Ginny was crying and hiccupping while rubbing Percy on the back. Ron had Hermione's head on his shoulder and was whispering to her words of comfort. Harry sat for a long time staring nothing and thinking. He had cried himself dry in the headmaster's office earlier; he missed everyone dearly, but could not cry anymore. Kreacher had come and gone again, leaving the corked vials of sleeping draught on a table for them. Harry felt weary, he knew his job was done, Voldemort was gone, but at what cost? So many lives were lost, his childhood was long past, and his surrogate family was slowly becoming zombies. Harry sat for a long time, thinking and wondering. When he finally looked up the only people left in the room were Ron and Hermione. They looked over at him when he looked up.

"Well, look who finally came out of his trance, are you going to make a prediction for us now, too?" Ron asked with a smirk. Harry looked quizzically at him. "I thought I'd lighten the mood, guess it was too soon." Ron shrugged.

"Harry, what are you thinking about?" Hermione asked him quietly. Harry thought for another moment before replying.

"I can't believe Mrs. Weasley swore." He said, causing them both to look at him and Ron to burst out laughing. Hermione looked at him shocked then she too started laughing. Soon all three were laughing harder than they had in many months. The relief of being done with their mission had finally sunk in and the release of their stress was amazing, and slightly liberating. They were still laughing hysterically when a slight cough resounded from the other side of the room. Their laughter died when they realized it was George standing there.

"Oh, hi George, um, we didn't wake you did we?" asked Hermione.

"No. I was awake and I heard laughter, so I thought that maybe…Fred…" George stopped talking and sighed; he looked up at them and asked, "So, what were you laughing about?" They looked slightly put out before Harry spoke.

"Well, Hermione asked me what I was thinking, and I said, um, I can't believe Mrs. Weasley swore." For a second George looked the same as before, forlorn and lost, but then he looked up at them and smiled his sideways smile and said, "Wait, what? She did what? What did she say?" for a second they saw a flash his old self again, but the sadness never completely left his eyes. Harry smiled at him before launching into the story about the battle between Mrs. Weasley and Bellatrix Lestrange. By the end they had gotten George to smile and chuckle a little, which they saw as a sign that he hadn't given up yet.

Since Harry had slept earlier in the day and Ron and Hermione had slept a little on the couch and George had slept for a while none of them were very tired so they decided to stay up and chat for a while longer. They asked George about Potterwatch and he asked them about their voyage, but mostly they talked about nothing. They all wanted to keep their minds off the missing twin, but it was a fact that hovered around them. After awhile, the conversation was joined by Ginny who had woken up hearing laughter from the common room and came searching. The small group had been talking about their accidental magic when they were little and Harry was telling the group about the freak haircut he had not wanted and had re-grown over night, when Ginny appeared. She joined in the conversation seeing that George was participating somewhat. After they sat and talked for a good half hour, George suddenly sat forward and looked at Ron.

"Ron you remember when you broke Fred's broomstick and Fred turned your teddy into a spider? Merlin, that was funny, you went screaming out the front door to Mum who was hanging up the wash. She came in and started yelling at us but before she could even get close to us, you did your first accidental magic on us. Remember what you did?" George had done what they couldn't do: he mentioned Fred. That was what broke the ice and the laughter from Ron and Ginny was strong and loud. Hermione and Harry had never heard the story before so they looked at each other and back at the siblings who were all, even George, laughing hard enough to have tears on their cheeks. As soon as Ron got his breath, he told Harry and Hermione.

"I turned their whole bodies purple and green, and their hair became blue. Ha, ha, ha! And they…they…oh Merlin, they stayed that way for a month!" Ron was trying so very hard not to laugh while telling the story, but failing miserably. As soon as Harry and Hermione heard what had happened they burst out laughing.

"And then…when they decided to get him back…I heard their plan and told Ron… he, he, he…and ha, ha, ha …he decided to get them again…" Ginny was laughing so hard she couldn't finish, so George decided to try and give it a shot.

"So we had decided to…he, he, he…we were going to…ha, ha, ha…oh jeez I can't… breathe…ah, ha, ha, ha…we were going to…stick his hand in warm water while he was sleeping, HA, HA, HA!" George was laughing so hard and so loud he couldn't breathe properly. "But he and Ginny…gasp, HA, HA, HA! They…they…they got us back by…gluing our buts to the toilet seats! AH, HA, HA, HA! It hurt so bad, we couldn't sit down for days!" By this time they were all laughing dreadfully loudly, and Ron and Ginny were rolling on the floor laughing so hard they weren't making any noise at all, and having a hard time breathing.

Meanwhile, across the room, Molly, Arthur, Bill, Fleur, Charlie, and Percy were all standing there smiling and chuckling, the women were crying softly.

"Well, I don't think we're going to have to worry about George wallowing in depression." Charlie told Arthur, who chuckled sadly and said, "We'll see."

* * *

After the laugh fest was over, everyone was a little hungry so Harry called Kreacher for more food, and they all ate a moderate meal of deli sandwiches and lots of pumpkin juice. They told more stories about Fred and George's antics before, during, and after school for a few more hours, this time the older members of the family adding in their favorites. People were drifting off to sleep in their chairs around midnight, sleeping draughts long forgotten. Molly and Arthur were left awake together.

"Arthur, he'll be okay, right?" Molly asked quietly. Arthur looked at her and asked, "George? Yes, sweetheart, I think he'll be just fine. It'll be a long hard road for him, but I think he will recover just fine. At least I hope so. These first few weeks will be the hardest." She laid her head down on his shoulder and sighed.

"I can't believe he's gone, Arthur. My poor babies. I'm going to miss him so much." She cried quietly on her husband's shoulder till she fell asleep. Arthur, left awake, sighed, and whispered, "I'll miss him too." He wiped a stray tear from his wife's face as a single tear of his own trailed down to his chin.

* * *

The next day Harry rose before the sun, he sat and watched the Weasley's and Hermione sleeping. He rose and walked over to Mrs. Weasley and laid his blanket that he had conjured in the night across her sleeping form, before moving towards the portrait hole. He thought he would go for a walk before everyone woke up. He didn't know that at that moment a pair of bright brown eyes was watching his exit.

He walked for a while through the quiet castle before heading to the Owlery. He sat on a ledge overlooking the grounds and lake; a small barn owl flew in and landed next to Harry. For a quarter of an hour Harry sat and stroked the owl softly while waiting for the sun to rise. He wasn't expecting a slight cough behind him and nearly fell out of the window as he turned to see who was behind him. It was Ginny. They had spoken briefly during the battle, and shortly the day before but other than that they hadn't been alone since his birthday the summer before.

"Ginny! What are you doing up here?" He asked her surprised.

"I followed you. I saw you leave the common room and followed you up here. I saw what you did for Mum before you left. It was one of the sweetest things I've ever seen. Thank you for that. She's going to have the hardest time of it, after George that is." She sighed. "So, what are you doing up here?" she asked. She had remained by the door the whole interaction.

"Well, I used to come up here to see Hedwig and watch the sunrise. Since Hedwig is gone, this little guy here joined me," abruptly the little owl flew to a perch to sleep. "But I guess he was tired, so…um, would you like to join me?" he suddenly realized she might be mad at him and was worried she might want to discuss his voyage, or why she couldn't have come with. He looked at her as she ventured nearer to him; she was smiling softly so his worries flew out the overlarge window. She climbed onto the ledge with him and sat a bit apart from him. They looked at each other and Harry opened his mouth to speak just as the sunlight rose over the forest. She put her finger over his lips and said, "Not right now Harry, lets just enjoy the sunrise." She scooted closer to him and he wrapped his arm around her, she laid her head on his shoulder and they watched the sun rise over the forest and Hogwarts. For a half hour they sat silently, and just looked at the grounds. When Ginny's stomach growled they giggled, and she lifted her head and looked at him with an embarrassed smile.

"I guess that means it's time for food, huh?" Harry chuckled.

"I guess we should head back now, Mum will be worried." Ginny looked out at the grounds once more before standing back up and moving out of the way for Harry.

"Ginny, I just want to say, I'm sorry. I know you were worried about us, I just didn't know how to let you know that we were okay," Harry broke off not knowing what else to say.

"Harry, it's okay, I understand that you had to go. I knew that no news probably meant good news, or at least that you weren't captured and taken to Tom. There were moments that I was furious with you for leaving me behind, but then my more logical side took over and I understood. I just wish we could have done more to help you. There were nights that I thought about you, and imagined you were watching over me somehow, it's silly I know," she mumbled.

"No, it's not silly. There were many nights that I…um, well, I took out the Marauders map and watched your dot just lying in your bed. I wished that I could have been there with you guys. I am sorry I had to leave you Gin." He had finished speaking, and looked at her, she was crying slightly. "Gin? What's the matter, did I say the wrong thing?" he looked at her worriedly. She giggled.

"No Harry, these are happy tears. I can't believe that you watched me on the map. Harry, at Dumbledore's funeral you said that…that we couldn't be together, because you had to go after Tom. It's just that…well, he's dead now and…well, wouldyoubemyboyfriendagain?" she finished in a rush. Harry looked incredulous. She looked worried that he would say no, and quickly went on, "You don't have to, I know it's a little rushed but…you know what, never mind, it's okay." She turned to run out, but Harry grabbed her wrist to stop her.

"Gin, it's okay, I was just surprised, that's all. I was worried that you had moved on and didn't think of me that way, I'd love to be your boyfriend again." He chuckled and pulled her into a tight embraced and hugged her as if he would never get to again.

The two showed up in the common room shortly after their relationship reconciliation. They were holding hands as they walked through the portrait hole, and they saw that people were still sleeping, so they walked over to an empty couch and sat down. They sat and whispered stories to each other for a while until more people were awake. Ron and Hermione were the first to notice how close they were sitting.

"Well, what do you know? Didn't take them long, did it?" Ron chuckled.

"Oh Ron, leave them alone, Harry's had a tough enough year being away from Ginny, if you tease them, so help me I will curse you into the next century. Or better yet, I'll sic Ginny on you." She smirked at the horrified look on her boyfriends face, and then laid her head back onto his shoulder.

"You know, I kind of like the sound of that…" he chuckled.

"Of what?" she asked suspiciously.

"Ginevra Molly Potter." He was laughing out loud now. Hermione punched him on the arm hard.

"Oh no you don't Ronald Weasley, you will not torment them now; I refuse to allow you to…" she broke off when he reached over and kissed her.

"Wow, there's finally a way to make her be quiet!" Harry had watched across the room. Harry and Ginny had heard only Hermione raising her voice right before Ron had kissed her, but never the less; she turned away from Ron and blushed.

"I love you Hermione Granger, and there's nothing you can do about it," he whispered in her ear. She smiled and turned to him and kissed him soundly on the lips before replying, "I love you too, Ron Weasley, you're stuck with me."

Across the room, Harry and Ginny were smiling and watching the two snogging.

"Well, they look happy." Ginny snickered. "I wonder how long before—"

"Ronald Weasley!" shouted Molly.

"Oh, right on schedule!" snorted Ginny. Molly went on lecturing her youngest son about treating a lady with respect and not parading her about in public snogging and being inappropriate. Ron looked horrified, while Hermione turned purple trying not to laugh at her boyfriend's misfortune. Harry, Ginny, Bill, Fleur, Charlie, Arthur, Percy, and George all sat chuckling in the background. Eventually Arthur rescued Ron and Hermione by pulling Molly away and engaging her into a conversation with her elder children about when to return to the Burrow, while everyone had a small breakfast brought by Kreacher.

* * *

A short while later, McGonagall came in and walked over to Molly and Arthur.

"May I sit?" she asked them.

"Of course, Minerva. What brings you up here?" asked Molly.

"Well, I know this is a hard time for all of you, but we need to know what to do with Fred's body. I know it's only been a day, but we need to take the deceased to the funeral home's." She said all this very quietly, so that George, who was sitting in the corner with his older brothers, wouldn't hear. At her words Molly teared up, Arthur however knew that he had to take care of his son's body soon. He leaned over his wife and told Minerva he would meet her in her office a half an hour later to discuss it with her. She nodded and stood up. She then walked over to Harry, who was sitting with Ron, Hermione, and Ginny.

"Mr. Potter, the minister would like to see you in my office in an hour, please. Come by yourself. Mr. Weasley, Ms Granger, please come to my office a half an hour after Harry, the minister would like to see you two then, also." She smiled and nodded to Ginny before turning and leaving the room.

"Wonder what Kingsley wants to talk to me about," Harry wondered out loud.

"He probably wants to discuss the press conference with you and what you're going to talk about. He wants to make sure you both have your stories straightened out," Hermione replied matter-of-factly.

* * *

Exactly an hour later, Harry walked up to the newly fixed gargoyle leading to the headmaster's office. He stood looking at the gargoyle realizing he didn't know the password. Suddenly, the sound of stone grinding on stone came and the gargoyle moved over to reveal Professor McGonagall.

"Good, you're on time." She turned to the statue and waved her wand and muttered something under the breath so Harry didn't hear, then turned to him and said, "Follow me." She led the way up the winding staircase, at the top Mr. Weasley was waiting for them. He said goodbye to the professor and patted Harry on the shoulder and wished him a quiet good luck before taking his leave. Harry watched the defeated looking hunched form of Arthur Weasley traveling downwards until he could no longer see him before he turned around. Minerva McGonagall, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Professors Flitwick, Sprout, Slughorn, and several staff and Order members were also present and watching him. Harry stopped and stared.

"Please come in Mr. Potter, have a seat," McGonagall said kindly. Harry walked over to the only seat left open next to the head desk. The chairs were arranged in a circle so everyone could see everyone else.

"Mr. Potter, er, may I just call you Harry for now, it makes things a lot easier?" asked Kingsley.

"I don't see why not," Harry replied.

"Harry, I asked that you come here today to discuss the press conference we have to hold in a day or two. We need to discuss what you're going to tell them—"

"Wait, wait, wait. What _I'm_ going to tell them? Do I really have to say anything?" Harry interrupted.

"Yes, Harry, since you're the one who delivered the final blow, I think it best if you tell your story. Of course, keeping certain, er, details to yourself." Harry fought to not roll his eyes. _Well, of course I'm going to keep some things to myself. Why in the world would they think I'd tell the world about Horcruxes?_ Harry thought to himself. "The Wizengamot feels it would be best if you only told the public that, yes, you were on the run, but you got tired of running and decided to fight. You thought the best place to join the fight would be Hogsmeade or Hogwarts. So you traveled to Hogsmeade and then to the school where the fight began and ended." Kingsley was talking in his calming tone of voice, but Harry wasn't agreeing.

"What about when people begin to ask why Voldemort was after me, a mere seventeen year old in the first place? Or, where was I that whole time? Or, why didn't I come back sooner? Or why I chose Hogwarts and endangered the children there? Listen, I know you're trying to make sure the information about the Horcruxes doesn't get out, but I know that and so do Hermione and Ron. We won't let that secret get out because we know the ramifications if it does. Have you forgotten, we were the ones to hunt down and destroy the Horcruxes, if _anyone_ understands the magnitude of this secret, it's us three?

"I don't agree with keeping everything a secret from the public. I hate the press, and would like to never deal with them ever again, but I know that's never going to happen, so I want to make sure I answer as many people's questions during the press conference so that I don't have to deal with it again. I am a member of the public and I know what it's like not getting the truth from the press. I hate it. So, if I can, I will make sure the people know the truth. Oh, and if Rita Skeeter shows her ugly face there, I'll turn her into the dog she is, understand?" Harry looked to the minister, who nodded.

"I understand your concerns about Rita Skeeter, and she won't be there. But what are you going to be talking about during the press conference, where you were, what happened, what?" Kingsley looked like he was getting frustrated. He knew that being the Interim Minister would be difficult; Kingsley was in charge of keeping the public calm and re-building the ministry from the destruction of Voldemort's reign.

"Kingsley, I'm sure Mr. Potter knows what not to say. As long as that cow, Rita Skeeter won't be there, I believe everything will be okay. Right, Mr. Potter?" The Headmistress looked at Harry sternly. He nodded trying not to smile at the stern professor's jibe against another person.

"Actually, I would like to know what the whole conference is going to entail, who all will be there, who'll be talking besides me, and what will they be talking about?" Harry asked, but before he could be answered a knock came from the door. McGonagall got up and said come in. When Harry looked over he saw Ron and Hermione walking in. He waved hello to them and they walked over to where he was sitting, just as two more chairs showed up. They sat down and looked to Harry, wondering what they were doing here.

"Mr. Weasley, Ms Granger, Kingsley asked for you two to join us. We are discussing the nature of the press conference we will be having with in the next few days and we wish for you two to stand up with Harry and tell a part of your journey or mention something. We are also coming up with an idea of what else we will be covering in the meeting with the press. If you have any ideas let us know. Kingsley?" McGonagall looked at him.

"Well, so far we know for sure that I will stand up and announce that, yes, Voldemort is unequivocally dead and then we will have Harry and his friends get up and share their story. I will also be mentioning certain people who helped in the war effort and resistance. I will also publicly announce that anyone the 'Corrupt Ministry' has declared unfit to practice magic is now allowed to, and anyone dubbed Undesirable, are no longer. If someone had their wand destroyed or confiscated by the Ministry, the Ministry will replace or give back their wand. We will be going back to the way the Ministry was run before Voldemort got his claws into it through Pius Thicknesse. Minus the press manipulation and bribes, of course. Is there anything that anyone feels I have left out?" He finished looking around the room. No one said anything for a minute before Ron cleared his throat.

"Er, well, what about…all the people who died. Will anyone be saying anything about them, mentioning them?" Ron suddenly realized who he was talking to and turned red. The room looked at Ron, which caused him to turn even redder, although they were all looking approvingly at him.

"Well, we have been thinking about doing a memorial sometime this week or next. That will be where we will honor those who fought and died for the cause. We will also need people to speak at that event also, but that is not what we came here to talk about right now. We will actually be holding another meeting tomorrow, or possibly today, to discuss the memorial. You three are also welcome to attend that meeting if you want. But other than that, do you all think we have the press covered?"

Hermione cleared her throat, "Will the school be opening next year?" she asked quietly.

"Well," McGonagall began, "The board of Governors has yet to give me an answer on that. I believe they are waiting to hear that V-Voldemort will not be returning. I'm sure that it will be opening again next year, though I'm not sure what we'll do about all the students that missed the last year," she finished while looking at the trio.

"Well, is there anything else?" Everyone shook their heads so Kingsley went on. "Well, does anyone need to go anywhere right away? We are done a little early, but we could get a head start on tomorrows meeting." Only one person said they needed to go so they continued with the meeting.

Thirty minutes later, it had been decided that Kingsley would start the memorial, McGonagall, Hermione, Ron, Harry and a few others would get up and say a few words. A monument would also be unveiled. It would be held the day after the press meeting, or in other words, in two days and there would be a luncheon afterwards. The whole memorial was completely planned out by the end of the meeting.

The trio left and realized that they had missed lunch so they decided to go to the kitchens for some leftovers before heading back up to the common room. As they reached the kitchens Harry suddenly had a memory flash of a short elf, running and hugging him around the knees at the beginning of every kitchen visit. He stopped suddenly.

"Harry, what's the matter?" Hermione looked at him with an anxious glance when she realized that he wasn't with them anymore.

"I don't…think I can go in there yet…I just…Dobby…" he whispered, tears welled up in his eyes but he refused to let them fall.

"Oh, Harry, it's okay, we understand. Should we all just go up to the common room and you could call Kreacher?" she asked, but her stomach gave an obvious growl.

"No, it's okay; you two go ahead and get some lunch. I'll go somewhere and call Kreacher. No, really it's okay. You two haven't had any alone time together for so long anyways, I'd feel like a third wheel, go on." Harry smiled reassuringly and turned away to walk back to the main hallway. "Just don't do anything I wouldn't do!" he called back over his shoulder chortling to himself. His walk back to the castle entrance hall went slowly; he used the time to reminisce about the time he had spent over the years with his two best friends. He was so into his thoughts, he ran straight into something very solid.

"Oomph! Good God, Potter, watch where you're going! Great, now I need to go wash and shower, thanks a lot, Potter." Draco Malfoy was the last person Harry wanted to see at that moment. As malicious as Malfoy was Harry couldn't find the energy to retort.

"Whatever, Malfoy. Enjoy your shower then," he replied as he walked away.

"Jeez Potter, you just defeated the evilest wizard in the last century, shouldn't you be signing autographs and giving interviews? Why are you sulking around the dungeons, when your fan club awaits you?" Malfoy was sneering at Harry blocking his way forward, the only way to get away from him was either back the way he came or to push passed Malfoy and hope he didn't deck him.

"What do you want Malfoy? I'm not exactly in the mood to deal with you right now. Maybe you could go and annoy someone else for once." It was apparently the wrong thing to say because Malfoy retorted with, "But why would I want to do that? You're so much fun to _annoy_, maybe I should just follow you and—" Malfoy broke off there because of the wand shoved into his face.

"Malfoy, as so well put a moment ago, I just defeated the evilest wizard in the last century…do you really think that _annoying_ me is that great of an idea? You don't think that maybe I've been pressed a little too thinly this last year, HUH? I AM SO SICK OF YOU AND YOUR ARROGENCE! Get the HELL away from me if you value your life." With that Harry pushed past Malfoy and stormed off away from the shocked individual. Malfoy stared at Harry back and muttered, "Nutter," before turning and walking down towards the Slytherin common room.

Harry's anger blinded him to where he was walking, but after his emotions subsided he looked up to see Hagrid's hut before him. He saw smoke rising from the chimney and knew his friend was home, so he stepped forward and knocked. Instantaneous barking and shuffling feet was heard from within.

"Fang! Shut up you dozy dog. Who is it? Who's there?" shouted Hagrid from inside as he fumbled with his doorknob. The door swung open before Harry could say it was him.

"Harry! What are you doing here? Come in, come in. Down Fang!" As soon as Harry entered the threshold he was assailed by Fang, and within seconds covered in slimy drool.

"Yes, hi Fang, it's good to see you too." Harry chuckled as he patted the boarhound on the head. He turned to look at Hagrid and abruptly remembered the last time he had really seen Hagrid; in the forest before he sacrificed himself. He knew the same thought was passing through the half-giant's head at the same time, because Hagrid suddenly looked angrier than Harry had ever seen him, even when he had yelled at the Dursley's for not telling Harry who he really was. Harry unconsciously took a step backwards, which Hagrid mistook as Harry was trying to leave.

"Oh no you don't, Harry! You and I need to have a little chat. Sit down. Now!" Harry sat quickly. "Now, what in Merlin's name were you thinking? Huh? Sacrificing yourself? Did you really think that You-Know-Who would leave the rest of us alone if you were dead? Of course he wouldn't have! He marched right down to the castle to show off your body to everyone and then there was more fighting. What were you thinking!?" Hagrid had been steadily turning redder as he gained steam and volume. He continued his tirade for several more minutes. When he paused to take a breath Harry found his moment to interrupt safely.

"Hagrid, were you in the headmaster's office yesterday?" he asked quietly. The half-giant stopped his next sentence and looked at Harry warily before replying, "No, why?" Harry sighed.

"Hagrid, can you keep a secret? Like, truly not let this out to anyone?" Harry looked at his friend, who nodded his agreement. "Hagrid, have you ever heard of Horcruxes?"

An hour later Harry was finishing up his tale of his death defying action.

"So you see Hagrid, I had to sacrifice myself so that Voldemort could finally be killed. If I hadn't, his followers could have used the piece of soul that resided in me to bring him back again. I had to do it, there was no other way. You understand right? I didn't mean for you to have to witness it, or have to carry me back. If I could have given you a sign that I was still there, alive, I would have. But there were too many Death Eaters around, not to mention Voldemort himself." Harry finished looking up at his first wizard friend and saw tears in his eyes.

"Aw, Harry, I knew you would have had a good reason to do what you did. I was just surprised that's all. I understand why you did it, but I don't think I'll ever understand how you could bring yourself to go through with that. But, I'm not going to sit here and praise you to the high heavens; I know you don't like that kind of attention.

"Now, I'm sure you didn't come all the way down to my hut to spill your soul to me about everything you did for the last year. So, why did you come down here?" Hagrid, Harry suddenly realized, was a lot more receptive than he let on, for he had a knowing look in his eye.

"Well, I kind of had a run in with Malfoy and he got me all irritated and I sort of just walked and when I had cooled off enough to see where I was going I was at your door. I guess I needed to get away from all the people in the castle. Ron and Hermione were in need some alone time, so I figured I would let them have lunch together. I just realized that I haven't had lunch; I think I may go up to the castle now. Thanks for listening Hagrid; I really needed to get some things off my chest." Harry and Hagrid stood up from the table and walked towards the door.

"Ah, Harry, you know I am always here if you need some one to talk to. My door is always open to you. You've grown so much since I first told you about magic and our world. I'm proud of how you've turned out, Harry. Now, go eat something. I'll see you later." Harry wiped the tears from his eyes after hearing what hagrid said and walked up to the castle. As he approached it he decided to make a quick dash to the kitchens, despite it bringing back memories of Dobby, to get a bite to eat before returning to the Gryffindor common room.

On his way up the marble staircase fifteen minutes later, he looked up to see a short red head coming towards him. She sped up as she saw him and when she got closer Harry saw the look of worry etched into her face.

"Harry, where the bloody hell have you been? We've got practically the whole castle looking for you!" She looked pretty angry, but her announcement shocked him, he didn't think he had been gone for that long.

"What! Why?" Harry shouted.

"When Ron and Hermione got back from the kitchens they found out you had never come back and they panicked. They said something about you remembering Dobby and making an excuse to leave them at the kitchens. They said you were going to come back here and have Kreacher come bring you some food, but you never showed up, where were you?" She said all this very fast to him.

"I…well, I had a run in with Malfoy and it got me seeing red, so I stormed out of the castle and wound up at Hagrid's. Then, since he wasn't in the head office when we told everyone our story, I had to tell him. He was right barmy with me about sacrificing myself that night. He yelled a bit and I had to calm him down. It took a while, then when I came back in I remembered I hadn't eaten anything since way this morning so I went back to the kitchens and grabbed a quick lunch, and decided to come back up to the common room, and here we are. Are you serious? The whole castle is looking for me?" He really hadn't wanted to bring himself so much attention and now he was worried about how he'd explain to the whole castle that he was just out visiting a friend.

"Well, not the whole castle; just the family, Hermione, and McGonagall are looking for you. Come on we'd better hurry up, it's about the time that we agreed to meet up again. Hurry!" She grabbed his hand and began to run. Harry wondered why she was in such a hurry to get to the common room, but as soon as they entered he understood completely. Mrs. Weasley, Hermione, and Ron were all sitting on the couch; Mrs. Weasley and Hermione were crying and Ron looked very pale. They looked up as Harry and Ginny entered and all three jumped up and ran over to them.

"Oh, Harry! Where were you, what happened?"

"You just disappeared, we didn't know where you were, what happened?"

"What the bloody hell were you thinking running off like that?"

Harry's ears were assaulted and he found himself being hugged very tightly, as Hermione and Mrs. Weasley were both squeezing him and shouting in his ears. It was a testament to how worried they had been that they didn't admonish Ron for cursing. Ginny stepped back and smirked.

"Er, maybe you guys could let him breathe and he'll tell you where he was," she shouted over the din. They all stepped back and looked to Harry.

"Er, well, I was down at Hagrid's," he muttered.

"What? Why?" asked Hermione and Ron. Harry smiled.

"He wasn't in the head office yesterday so he didn't hear the story. He thought I had just decided to give up and sacrifice myself for no reason. I had to explain to him why I did that. He was pretty angry at first. I thought I was going to get pummeled," Harry chuckled, the girls sighed and Ron just looked at him stunned.

"Why didn't you tell us you were going to Hagrid's? We'd have gone with you. You didn't have to make up something about Kreacher and letting us be alone," Ron said quietly.

"I know, I kind of just ended up there. See, when I left you guys I was thinking about everything that has been happening the last year, and I literally ran into Malfoy. He annoyed me to the point of threatening his life before I was able to walk away. I was so angry I just walked and didn't pay attention to where I was going and I ended up at Hagrid's house. It kind of just happened. Besides, you two did need some alone time together. We spent the last year living in a tent and me being the third wheel, I wanted to let you two be alone." Harry looked at Mrs. Weasley. "Mrs. Weasley, I'm really sorry I worried you. I wasn't thinking about it, and spent more time than I thought there, and then decided that I needed food before I came back. Will you be alright?" She smiled and nodded her head.

"Of course I will. I'm sorry I panicked so. I just thought of all the Death Eaters out there that hadn't been caught yet, and you disappeared and my imagination ran wild. You're a good boy— or I should say man. I know I shouldn't worry about you so, but I love you, and I am a mother and that's what mother's do, they worry. I'm going to go and find the rest of the family and let them know where you were, you four stay here and I'll be back later." She walked towards the door, but before she opened it she paused, waved her wand and muttered a spell none of them could hear then she left.

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A/N: This chapter was a little longer than i had anticipated, but i enjoyed it. I wanted to extend the Malfoy encounter, but sadly everything I came up with didn't work out well. You will all see Malfoy later in the summer! I also am Horrible at writing in the vernacular of Hagrid and later Fleur. So, I'm sorry Hagrid sounded normal, I didn't want to attempt it and have it sound atrocious.Tell me what you are thinking. Like it, hate it, never reading ff again because of it. (In which case I'll say, oh, too bad so sad!) Thanks to Aliey for betaing this chapter!


	3. Ginny's Story

A/N: All chapters beta edited will have a **'be'** before the title. Thanks eclipsed heart for beta-ing!

Disclaimer: (sung to the tune of the Oscar Meyer wiener song) Oh, I wish that I was JK Rowling, that's what I'd truly like to be, 'Cuz if I were JK Rowling, everyone would be jealous of me! bows thank you thank you!

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'**be' **_**Ginny's Story**_

_**Previous chapter: **__She walked towards the door, but before she opened it she paused, waved her wand and muttered a spell none of them could hear, then she left._

"Wonder what spell she just placed up," Ron speculated aloud.

"Well, she is our mother, and she knows that the four of us are dating, so it's probably a monitoring charm. If we get too frisky, it'll probably go off and she'll run here faster than Filch to make sure us girls don't lose our innocence," Ginny laughed. Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked shocked.

"She doesn't think that we'd actually do something like that here, does she?" Hermione muttered; she was very shocked.

"Well, she knew you three were living together in a tent for the last ten months. I think she was more worried about what might happen between you and Ron alone like that than anything. She tried to forget that there was a war on, and so she made herself worry about the most insignificant things." Ginny had walked over to the couch and sat down, the other three followed her and sat also.

"So, Ginny, you've heard what we've been doing. Why don't we spend the time before dinner with you telling us what you were up to the last ten months?" Ron teased his sister. She glared at him jokingly and stuck her tongue out at him. They all laughed and she sighed.

"Okay, but not a whole lot of stuff went on. Where should I start?" she asked.

"How about the wedding? All we know about what happened was that the Death Eaters came and tortured people trying to find out about where I was. We don't know anything about what happened after we left," Harry replied.

"Okay, well, after we got the message from Kingsley, chaos ensued. Everyone was running and Disapparating away, while Death Eaters were Apparating into the yard. As soon as there were enough Death Eaters there they set up an anti-Disapparition charm up around us all; it was like the spell Dumbledore used in the Ministry of Magic. Then they took each of us aside and questioned us about where each of you three were. We said Ron was upstairs with Spattergroit, that was actually kind of funny, watching them try to question the ghoul as if it were Ron. They knew that Spattergroit was highly contagious so they didn't want to get too close.

"Well, they decided to ask us all under Veritaserum, but since the Ministry was getting so…corrupt, certain Order members had started carrying the antidote to the truth serum, so, when the Death Eater watching us had his back turned, we each took a dose of it. As soon as the bottle was stored away, they came back, and questioned us. We had to be careful about our answers, if we said something that contradicted a previous answer, we were toast. After they questioned us, we overheard them talking about who was going to keep watch for you three. We knew that you were probably safe, but we also knew that if we contacted you or you contacted us, they would know. Fred and George worked really hard those first few hours to figure out who was watching us. The discovered out it was Pettigrew and they confused him for a few minutes so that Dad could send you three a Patronus message.

"The few weeks before school went horribly. I knew you guys were out there, fighting, and all I could do was sit at home and try to keep Mum calm. There were a few attacks during that time, not to mention the new laws put into effect. The Muggle-born registration was the worst. All I could think about was all my Muggle-born friends. I heard somewhere, I'm not sure where, but I knew that Dean had made a run for it. I had so many nightmares worrying about you three, Dean, and everyone. But the night before I left for school, Fred and George came over to stay the night. We had a talk. The made me realize that worrying so much would make me go crazy; I had to do my part to help the resistance. That's when they gave me a box they charmed. It magically refilled itself with Weasley Wizard Wheezes on a daily basis. It was also spelled so that anyone I didn't trust couldn't see it for what it was, it just looked like a simple jewelry box to them. It was brilliant. We knew that all owl post would be searched going in and out of the castle, so they wouldn't be able to mail supplies to me. They also added a feature to it that if they put anything into their copy of it, and said my name, it would send stuff to mine. So mum and dad could send me mail that wouldn't be read by the Carrows or Snape or the Inquisitorial Squad. Another thing they gave me, I'm still not sure how, but they sent me an old Invisibility Cloak. It was an old one of the orders that had a small rip in it and the charm for invisibility was wearing off, but it was still dead useful to me. They also sent me a radio and news about the resistance. I was the schools 'informant'. I told everyone the truth about what was going on outside.

"Well, I got to school, it was so much emptier. I never realized how many Muggle-borns there were. There were some half-bloods who left also. Their families moved out of the country. I spent the first few weeks getting settled, not really doing anything to get myself noticed. On Halloween Neville, Luna, Seamus, and I played a very well planned prank on Snape and the Carrows. Now that I know Snape was on our side, I feel bad for our continuous pranks on him," Ginny sighed.

"Ginny, you didn't know he was good, until it was too late. You never know, your pranks might have entertained him enough to remind him what he was fighting for," Hermione said, trying her best to soothe Ginny's conscience.

"I doubt it. We were pretty foul little brats—"

"Yes, I do believe they made Fred and George look like sweet little angels," chuckled a voice near the door. The four kids spun around and searched for the voice, and saw—"Professor McGonagall!" they said in unison. She chuckled as she came into the room further. "I particularly liked the one where you gave Severus a multi-changing, neon colored Afro. It was particularly hard for him to remove." Ron's jaw hit the floor.

"Professor, you knew it was us the whole time?" asked Ginny quietly.

"You turned his hair neon?" asked Hermione, shocked.

"A neon afro?" Harry barked with laughter. Ron was staring off into space with a faint smile on his face.

"Yes, Miss Weasley, I knew it was you and your friends. Actually, I think the whole staff knew it was you four, other than Severus and those Death Eaters of course. Don't worry, you won't be punished. We were very impressed with the creativity you showed in those pranks, and Mr. Weasley, I have pictures," Ron, broken from his daydream looked at his former professor with shock. "What? You can't imagine me with a sense of humor? Why wouldn't I want to remember Snape that way? It was quite humorous with the way his hair changed from orange to pink to green and looped back to orange," she chuckled. "Remind me next time you're in my office and I'll show them to you." He nodded, he was so happy to think of his least favorite teacher with a neon afro, it had temporarily rendered him speechless.

"Professor, can we help you with anything?" Hermione asked, bringing Harry out of his stupor.

"Well, I spoke with Bill and Charlie and they told what had happened with Mr. Potter. I was actually looking for Molly and Arthur. Do you know where they are?" she asked them. They shook their heads no, and she sighed. "Very well, I will look for them elsewhere. I would like to request that you three join us all in the Great hall for dinner tonight, alright?" They nodded yes and the professor went on. "Miss Weasley? I would like to reassure you that had Severus known it was you three, he would have had to punish you to make an example. But he, I dare say, found most of the pranks on the Carrows quite humorous. He may not have outwardly shown it, but working with someone for sixteen years, you get to read them fairly well. I may not have been able to tell he was on our side, but I also noticed he also didn't look very hard for the pranksters, either. So, rest assured, he would have enjoyed them much more if he didn't have to hide his true personality. Well, I must be off. Enjoy your afternoon." With that, she left them in silence.

Ron finally broke the silence with a laugh, "Neon afro…Gin, you're a genius!" Harry and Hermione laughed. Ginny smirked and stood up to take a bow. They applauded her and cheered.

"Thank you, thank you! But enough of your praise. Let me continue my story. Okay, where was I? Ah, yes, Halloween. On Halloween, about an hour before dinner, we found Peeves and asked him to dump some 'stuff' on Snape for us. We bribed him with some dungbombs to not tell anyone it was us that asked him to do it also. The stuff Peeves dumped on him was a mixture of sewage, liquefied dungbomb, and fish guts provided by the giant squid. Well, he did it for us brilliantly! And Snape was so angry!

"Seamus, Luna, Neville, and I all went down to the feast, like normal. It was planned that after the feast, Snape was going to stand up with the Carrows and give a speech on the importance of the purity of blood. So, we had Dobby in on this prank also. We had Dobby put Imago's Powerful Itching Powder into Snape's underwear while he showered the 'stuff' off. The thing about this itching powder is it soaks into his skin, so if the person changes their clothes, it would still itch, it's also spelled to get worse as the time goes on." Ginny was having a hard time trying not to laugh, because the others were laughing really hard. Ron and Harry were clutching their stomachs, and Hermione was red in the face and lying on the couch. Ginny waited for a few moments for them to calm down a little before continuing.

"Well, all through dinner I could see Snape getting redder and his arm was continuously disappearing under the table. Shortly before the end of the dinner he got up and walked out of the Great Hall. We giggled for a few minutes before he walked back in. Apparently, he had gone and changed his underwear, because he looked a little less itchy. I had changed the spell slightly at the last minute so that, if he changed, the itch would disappear for ten minutes then come back five times worse. Well, he called an end to the feast and the three of them stood up, and began to talk. A few minutes later, Snape stopped talking mid-sentence and did a sort of prance before he dismissed us all and ran into the antechamber behind the Head Table! The itch was so bad he couldn't even make it to his office!" All four of them were rolling around positively howling with laughter. They laughed for a good five minutes before they could sit up.

Wiping the tears from his eyes, Ron leaned over towards his sister. "Ginny, you are by far the most amazing prankster ever!"

"Did you guys get caught? Snape must have been so angry!" Hermione, now over the hilarity of the situation, was back to her sensible self.

"Nope. They could never prove it was us. They assumed it was us, but we were very careful to not leave a trail. I'm not Fred and George's sister for nothing. No, we didn't get caught. But the whole school suffered a little. Amycus Carrow, he taught us Dark Arts, used the prank as an excuse to 'punish' students by 'teaching' us how to duel by standing us up and sending curses at us, but if we sent one back to defend ourselves we'd get punished for attacking a teacher," Ginny said bitterly.

"That's horrible! How could they just curse children and not let them defend themselves?" Hermione was shaken to the core.

"Oh, I never said we didn't defend ourselves, just that we'd get punished if we did. A fair few students shot a curse or two back at them. I wasn't about to let them do that to me.

"Anyhow, I waited for nearly a month before doing my next big prank. I called it, The Prank of the Giant Jumping Beans." Harry and Ron looked skeptical. "It's lame I know, but funny nonetheless. So, the idea of this prank was to drop about ten giant jumping beans in both the Defense and Muggle Studies rooms at about one in the morning. Fred and George, of course, sent them to me by way of the magic box, shrunk and frozen for me. All I had to do to prepare them was to un-shrink and unfreeze them, and then drop them in the right place. I had Luna help me with this one. We each took ten, and did our spells on them. Luna and I had to look up a certain spell to tie a counter-curse to them, so that we could control how to get them to stop jumping. I also found a spell to make things resist human contact, so if a hand or body got near it would jump out of the way. One night, Luna and I met outside the Muggle Studies classroom, we spelled open the door, threw the beans in, shut the door, spelled it shut with a complicated locking spell, and ran.

"We waited until the Carrows had both met outside the classroom before heading towards the Defense room, where we did the same thing. I walked Luna to her common room, so she wouldn't get caught, and then went to Gryffindor common room. Problem is, as soon as I got there, I noticed someone lurking in the shadows watching the portrait hole to see who came and went. I couldn't get into the room without revealing myself to the Fat Lady, and Filch was settled in for a long night. I wasn't sure where I could go; I couldn't get into the room to go to sleep, and so I did the only thing else I could think of: I wandered the castle. I ended up going to the Owlery. I stayed there overnight, and as soon as the sun started coming up, I got up and went back down to Gryffindor common room. Filch was still there, but he was asleep, and snoring something horrible, too. I went up to the portrait hole and I whispered the password. She looked out for who was there, and I knew she wasn't about to just let some wandering voice into her common room. So I had to show myself. She whispered, 'Where have you been all night, young lady?' and I said, 'Please, just open up before he wakes up!' and she swung open. That was the only time I was that close to getting caught. But the result was worth it. The two classrooms were destroyed! The beans were still jumping around the next morning after breakfast. The teachers had no idea how to stop them, only because I spelled them to only react to a certain anti-jinx. Guess what they had to do to them to get them to stop?" Ginny looked at them expectantly. The boys looked at Hermione.

"What? You think I know how? I don't know everything! Ugh. How did you do it, Ginny?" Hermione ignored the boys' playfully shocked faces.

"Well, I made it so…you had to sing a lullaby to the beans to get them to stop jumping, but if you didn't finish the song, they got worse!" Ginny was chuckling at her own brilliance. The others were laughing outright. The image of the Death Eaters or Snape singing 'Hush Little Beanie' to an over-sized bean was almost too much for them. They laughed for a while before Ginny continued.

"At least, term went fairly normal for everyone, besides getting punished for the slightest infraction of course. Hannah Abbott, Neville, Luna, Seamus, and I got our kicks pranking the Death Eaters at least once a month. I wanted to make sure we had someone in the three houses from the D.A., so we asked Hannah to help. In December, we did a really great one. Fred and George sent me their new invention: Color Bombs. When they get dropped, they explode and cover all people in range in this powdery substance, in a variety of colors. The powder creates this very cold feeling, like snow. It makes you want to get it off, but if you get it wet or try to magically remove it, it dyes your skin that color. The dye won't come off no matter how hard you wash! It has a special way to get it off...you have to ask it nicely!" Ginny started laughing with Ron and Harry. After a moment, she calmed enough to finish the story.

"Okay, well, at the end of term feast, we brought a bunch of these bombs with us, but we put a few charms on them to make them invisible for an hour and certain colors. We each took one and levitated them over the house tables: green for Slytherin, yellow for Hufflepuff, blue for Ravenclaw, and burgundy for Gryffindor. Hannah did Hufflepuffs, Luna did Ravenclaws, Seamus did Gryffindors, and Neville did Slytherin. At the same time, they dropped them on each table. After the colored smoke lifted, everyone could see the other tables! Gryffindor burst out laughing, and, after a few seconds, so did Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. All the Slytherins were fuming. After the teachers all calmed us down, I levitated my bomb silently over the Head table, it was a special bomb that, when it exploded, dropped a couple different colors. It was a special order from Fred and George. It covered one end of the table, closest to Gryffindor, with an orange powder, the middle three people neon pink, and the rest bright purple. Snape and the Carrows were dyed neon pink! They were furious! The best thing though is that Snape stood up and tried to magically clean the powder away, so it dyed everyone's skin!" The four roared with laughter and, this time, it took a good ten minutes for them to compose themselves.

"How did all the students and professors clean off?" Hermione, the ever-sensible one, asked.

"Well, I knew that if we didn't get doused we'd be suspects, so we had to sacrifice our skin for the meantime. But, since I knew how to get rid of it, I made notes for three common rooms, that said, 'Ask the dye nicely, and it will obey.' We each dropped the note in our common rooms before we left for the break." Ginny laughed. "Since most kids didn't get the notice about the politeness, they went home still dyed various colors. Snape spent the beginning of break sending out letters to each kid about how to remove the dye." Ron, Harry, and Hermione looked at Ginny in a new light. She was able to pull of a prank of school wide magnitude, and not get caught, or at least not get into trouble. Not only did this prank cover the student body, but it got the teachers also, and caused more work for the one teacher everyone hated.

Harry understood why Ginny was hesitant to tell them about all the pranks on Snape: she was feeling guilty about causing grief and more hard work for the man who, in reality, was the biggest hero. He was grateful to McGonagall for letting Ginny know that Snape didn't resent the pranks on him. Harry looked at Ron and Hermione and knew they were thinking the same thing.

"Ginny, I am proud to call you my sister. You are a true Weasley!" Ron said to her, slapping her on the back. She grinned at him.

"You haven't heard anything yet. We did at least one prank a month, so that means about five more pranks to tell about. Luna had been taken off the train during the break so she wasn't back at school, we were worried about her, but since we couldn't do anything to help her, we stepped it up a notch. Over the break, I spent a lot of time with Fred and George. They told me about almost every secret passageway they knew about and how to use it.

"The first prank of the New Year, Neville and I went out one night and charmed all the statues and suits of armor to shout insults at Snape and the Carrows. It took a really long time to get every statue in the castle, but, by about four in the morning, we were done. We were so tired the next day, but we couldn't appear tired or we'd get caught, so we placed glamour charms on each other to hide the bags under our eyes, and gave each other a cheering charm throughout the day. It wasn't a very big prank, but it still made Snape and the Carrows extremely mad, probably even more so when they couldn't figure out who did it! I was getting worried that they'd resort back to punishing the whole school again, but word got around that the majority of the student body was impressed and anxious to see what the pranksters would do next. So, I sat down and planned out the next prank. I was just going to do another small prank for Valentines Day, but it escalated into a fairly complicated one.

"I asked the twins for a very large bottle of love potion, the kind that lasts twenty-four hours. They sent it, and I talked Dobby into helping me. Since this was such a horrid thing to do, not to mention against even Dumbledore's school rules, I did this one by myself. I had Dobby pour six doses of Love potion into certain teachers breakfast. Snape, both of the Carrows, Filch, Madam Pince, and Trelawney all got a dose. Then my part came, I had to hang a picture of the person they were to fall in 'love' with in front of their faces as they ate so that as soon as the potion kicked in they would see the picture and fall in 'love'." Ginny started laughing. "It's really quite funny! I made Filch fall in love with Alecto Carrow, she fell in love with…" At this, she started laughing so hard, she couldn't speak. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all laughed with her, only because they were so anxious to find out who the female Carrow fell in love with. Finally, after a few tries, Ginny could breathe and speak again.

"Alecto fell in love with her…brother!" Again Ginny was laughing hysterically. The others were now rolling with hysterics. The image that met their thoughts was very amusing. When Ginny could breathe again, she continued. "Well, I thought it would be going a little too far if the siblings fell for each other, so I made Amycus chase after…oh, who was it? Oh, yeah, Madam Pince! I didn't really want to include any more female teachers, besides Alecto, but I thought it was only fair. Besides, Pince had yelled at me the day before, for no reason. Well, I had Pince chase after Snape, and I had Snape fall desperately in love with Professor Trelawney. Then to make it even I had her fall in love with Filch!

"It was so funny watching them chase after each other and openly shout their love to the others. It was great, too, because I did it right before breakfast, so it happened in front of the whole school. None of the other professors did anything about the love fest going on, they just ate their breakfast! Only when Filch tried to tackle Amycus and Amycus tried to curse Snape, and all the females got into a cat fight at dinner that night did they finally break it up. It was like one giant, multifaceted love hexagon! McGonagall tried to find out what type of love potion it was so they could have the antidote, but she must not have tried very hard, because it wore off by itself by breakfast the next day. I heard Snape yelling at McGonagall the next day about acting like a professor and helping colleagues in need. I almost laughed out loud at that. She was like, 'Severus, I tried to figure out the antidote, but I am not a potions master for a reason. Even Poppy couldn't figure it out before it wore off. You can hardly blame me for some stupid childish prank.' I was walking past the staff room when she walked out and I saw she had a smirk on her face." They all had a good laugh.

"Okay, Ginny, you have surpassed your own brilliance. I can't believe you got away with that! That's…that's…genius! You, little sister, are a genius! Harry, here's my advice to you: don't piss her off!" Ron was glowing with pride for his little sister, the youngest of her family, yet probably the only one to ever pull one over on Snape, not to mention, pulling over several pranks on the old professor, and not getting caught.

"Ginny, I'm impressed! That prank in itself would have gotten you expelled, several times over, I might add. It took guts to do that!" Hermione, too, was proud of Ginny.

"Thanks Hermione, Ron. I knew I had to do something to help the resistance. It was the only thing I could really do. But at least I did it well. But…I knew I had gone probably a little too far that time, so the next one I did was a small one. I just had Dobby 'borrow' all the Inquisitorial Squad badges. He brought them to me at night so I could charm them. Then, he brought them back later that night. I charmed them all to say 'Incredibly Stupid!'" She giggled. "It took about three days for those stupid Slytherins to notice that their badges were insulting them." They all laughed a little, but not as much as the other pranks. This one was, as Ginny had said, small and not as funny. Ginny hesitated to continue, though she did not know why.

"Well, after the badges one what did you do? I know that couldn't have been your last prank." Harry teased. "You're holding out on us, Gin. What did you do next? It can't be as bad as the love potion." Harry laughed while Ginny playfully glared at him. She stuck out her tongue at him and turned and fake pouted.

"Well, if you're going to tease me, I'm not going to tell you my last two pranks," she huffed jokingly. The others shouted out, pleading her to continue, playing along with her joking attitude. "Fine, I'll talk, I'll talk! Okay, so the next prank I did was one the others thought up. Since I had the means to get the supplies, they got me in on it, but it was mainly Neville, Seamus, and Luna's idea. They came up with the idea to put crushed Billywig stingers in the lunches of our three 'favorite' teachers. So I asked our dear brothers, and they sent a massive amount of crushed stingers to me and we went to talk to Dobby, once again. We asked him if we were to put something on the plates in the kitchen would it get transferred to the plates upstairs? He said yes. So we went to the head table after we made Dobby leave, and sprinkled a healthy, or not so healthy, amount onto Snape's, Alecto's, and Amycus' plates. We made sure we had prime seats in the Great Hall for lunch. About five minutes into their pot roast, Snape started chuckling, then so did the Death Eater twins, soon they were laughing so hard, they were crying! Almost immediately after that, they began to float! Before long, they were almost to the ceiling! It took the rest of the staff an hour to get them down! Oh boy, were they furious when they were given the antidote. They were about ready to pull out Umbridge's blood quills and give the whole school detention, but McGonagall put a stop to that. All they had to do was ask the house elves who went into the kitchen before lunch. So they did, but, luckily, we told Dobby to scoot over to Hagrid's for the afternoon, or we'd have been in deep trouble. But none of the other house elves knew we had been there, and none of them knew Dobby knew we'd been there. So we were safe!" They all had a good hearty laugh before Ginny continued. Again Ginny hesitated. Ron and Hermione didn't notice, but Harry did.

"Gin, what's the last one? It's got to be your best one. Saved the best for last, did you?" he chuckled. Ginny glanced at him and said, "Well, I think it's my best, but I'm not sure you'll think so."

"Why? What did you do? As long as you didn't kill someone, I'm sure it will be fine! Hilarious even! Try me."

"Well, alright, but if it makes you upset, don't start yelling at me. Okay, the next one I did was actually Neville's idea, but I helped perfect it. What we did was found some really good pictures of you three, and we enlarged them to the size of a portrait, and framed them." The three of the them were staring at Ginny, shocked, and wondering what they did with the monstrous photos of themselves.

"Then one day, when Snape was doing a mandatory staff meeting, Neville, Seamus, and I ran down to the Entrance Hall. We then took the shrunken portraits out of our pockets, enlarged them again, and we each magically glued them to the wall. I had done some spells on them the night before that made them talk like real portraits do, but with your guys' personality and attitude. Then before we left the hall, I told them, the pictures, to insult Snape and the Carrows and any student they felt like, especially the three of us that just put them up. I basically told them to act as though they didn't know who put them up." Ginny paused and looked at her boyfriend, brother, and best friend. They looked shocked. She couldn't tell if they were angry or not. Harry looked at her.

"Are they still up? I haven't seen any giant portraits of me, Ron, or Hermione anywhere," Harry asked her quietly.

"Harry, you're not mad at me, are you?" Ginny asked timidly.

"How about this: I reserve judgment. For now," he responded.

"Um, okay, well, yes they are still up. Snape actually couldn't get them down, neither could the Carrows. Don't think the rest of the staff really tried that hard. You remember Umbridge, and how the professors were actually making things worse for her? Well, multiply that by ten and that is how they were acting towards Snape." A sad look rapidly covered Ginny's face.

"Ginny, don't worry about it. Just think about what McGonagall said. Hey, why don't we go check these photos out? I want to see my picture!" Ron hopped up from his seat, and reached back to pull Hermione up also, who had muttered something that sounded like "vanity" under her breath.

"Jeez, Ron, feeling a little self-centered today, are we?" giggled Ginny, who was pulled up by her brother after Hermione.

"Well, sorr-ee little sis, if I want to see a life sized picture of me, especially if that picture insulted a teacher for me! Come on Harry, your picture insulted Death Eaters! Don't you want to see it?" added Ron, who had turned to pull Harry to his feet next.

"Okay, Ron, jeez. Don't get your knickers in a twist. I'm coming," Harry mumbled as he was pulled to his feet by his best mate. As the foursome walked leisurely down to the Entrance Hall together, Ginny finished her prank story.

"Well, the giant picture one was my last before I was taken out of school, for my safety. I was told that the Professors couldn't get the pictures down at all. It's no wonder, since we magically stuck them up there." Ginny was bouncing down the hallway backwards, talking to the trio.

"Um, Ginny, what kind of spell did you use to stick it up?" Hermione muttered.

"Oh! Well, I kind of used a…Permanent Sticking Charm." Ginny replied, very fast, before turning and running away from them.

"WHAT?" three voices rang out loud down the hall after her. They heard her laugh and chased after her. They pursued her down several flights of stairs but her petite, athletic figure was able to stay well ahead of them, all the way down to the main floor. She ran down the hallway and turned around just as Harry caught up to her with a smile on his face, Ron and Hermione caught up to them a moment later, both out of breath and clutching their sides.

"You…used a…Perm…Permanent…oh, bloody hell!" Ron paused and took a deep breath.

"Ron, don't…curse. Ginny I can't believe you! A Permanent charm? Really? Now our pictures are going to be stuck on the wall forever shouting out insults at everyone? I know I wanted to be remembered, but this way…" Hermione took a deep breath that Ginny knew she had to head off the long lecture before it started.

"Relax Hermione, they won't shout insults at people when I ask them to stop. Besides, I do think Snape learned something from Order Headquarters…look." She pointed to a wall behind them. They looked, but only saw a long tapestry.

"What exactly are we supposed to be seeing? All I see are a bunch of old farts sitting around a table," Ron stated.

"Oh come on Ron, think about what you're seeing," Ginny huffed. "Behind the old people eating supper," she prompted. Harry gasped and, then, so did Hermione.

"Of course, Headquarters! Ron, think about another portrait that shouts insults…" Harry whispered. Ginny heard him and punched him on the arm.

"Don't give him a hint! He's got to have brain in there somewhere, he can figure it out." Ginny retorted. The three of them laughed while Ron stared at the tapestry for a moment longer. Dawning spread across his freckled face.

"Mrs. Black! It's a CURTAIN!" Ron shouted and rushed forward to pull the drapery away. Harry and the rest followed him and helped to pull it down. After a couple good pulls, it gave way. They stepped back as the enormous piece of fabric fell to their feet, and they saw themselves on the wall.

"OI! DIRTY DEATH EATERS FINALLY DECIDED TO SHOW THEIR UGLY FACES, HUH? YOU SCUM! EAT DUNG!" the large rendition of Harry Potter shouted at them.

"YEAH! WHAT HE SAID! BLOODY DEATH EATERS! THEY'RE ALL MURDERERS AND HYPOCRITES!" shouted Ron's depiction.

"DOWN WITH VOLDEMORT, LONG LIVE ALBUS DUMBLEDORE! SUPPORT HARRY POTTER IN THE WAR AGAINST VOLDEMORT! DEATH EATERS EAT SHITE!" When Hermione's image swore, the real Hermione turned around and started yelling also.

"YOU MADE ME SWEAR?! GINEVRA WEASLEY, HOW MANY PEOPLE HEARD ME SWEAR?! HOW MANY?!" The many loud voices shouting various insults and curses carried a long way, soon many people were crowding around the three laughing students and the one bright red, fuming Hermione.

"SCUM BAG DEATH SNACKERS! DEATH TO MOLDY-VOLDEYSNORT!"

"I'm sorry Hermione, really, I didn't realize that it would take some of my mannerisms and place them in the quotes. Really, I am sorry!"

"DOWN WITH UMBRIDGE! I HATE THAT UGLY TOAD!"

"It would sound more sincere if you weren't laughing so hard you were crying!"

"I HATE HER TOO! SHE CAN KISS MY ARSE!"

"MAKE IT STOP, GINNY! RIGHT NOW!" Hermione was very red in the face and very angry. The crowd who gathered was laughing very hard, a few were crying and some were even on the ground laughing so hard that they weren't making any noise. Ginny calmed down enough to point her wand at the picture of Hermione and she muttered a spell which shot a pink light at the image.

"Hermione, you can stop yelling now, and please don't swear anymore. Thank you!" Ginny giggled when the Hermione portrait grinned down at her and said, "But swearing isn't that bad, though I guess I'll stop. The real me doesn't look too happy, does she?" Ginny giggled again.

"No, the real you doesn't like curse words." Ginny then turned and shot two more spells at the other two portraits and asked them the same request. They acquiesced, and then turned and bowed to the laughing crowd, who, in turn, applauded. After, most people went back to where they came from. Leaving Ginny and the trio to the pictures.

"I'm sorry, Hermione. I really am. Please forgive me?" Ginny pleaded.

"Ginny, I'm not that mad at you, I'm just embarrassed that everyone saw me swear. Although, it was kind of funny." Hermione grinned devilishly. "An amazing prank! I'm surprised the spells that keep them talking have lasted so long. Which spell did you use?" Hermione had that studious look in her eye that made the guys groan.

"Well, it took a few tries, but I used the spell that they use on professional paintings. The only big problem I had was to get your three voices recorded into my wand. I actually found some of all three of your hair and I asked Fred and George to get me some Polyjuice Potion. The three of us each took a vial and took turns making up insults and things to say. It was one of the last times I hung out with the two of them. They helped me come up with the idea of the insulting portraits and, well, develop the idea better. Neville had already gave me the idea and they helped me work out the kinks." The four had begun to walk back to the common room when Ron's stomach grumbled.

"Well, I guess it's that time again! Ron's stomach is like a clock. Let's head to dinner; McGonagall made sure we promised to be there." Harry reminded them. They turned around and went back down the two flights they had just gone up.

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A/N: Ah! This chapter took forever! But I had so much fun with it! I hope it made you laugh! I know I was in stitches! It was so hard coming up with so many pranks, but let me know how you thought of them! Let me know, hated it, loved it, pooped your pants laughing so hard? I know that when I was reading it to my little sister, I could barely read for laughing so hard, at my own stuff nonetheless. I'm going up north tomorrow, I'm exited! Don't worry I'm bringing my laptop with me so I will still post every Friday or sooner. Chapter four is a real good one. Remember, Reviews are motivation to post faster!

Preview of ch. 4: Dinner; Harry Potter signs his first autograph! The four discuss school and NEWTS. Rita Skeeter makes an appearance.


	4. Whispers In The Moonlight

Disclaimer: I wish it were mine, I really do. I would roll in my millions of dollars on my floor and throw it in the air and laugh maniacally. Oh yes, that's what I would do. I wonder if JKR does that sometimes…

A/N: **There will be a slightly more mature rating for the end of this chapter.** I will warn you, there is some strong language (British swears) in this chapter.

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**_'be' Whispers In The Moonlight_**

The four arrived at the Great Hall just as dinner was being served. It was the first night the Weasleys were coming out of their rooms, fresh from their grieving, to try and celebrate the victory of the Light. It was also the first real time Harry had left the privacy of the Gryffindor Tower and ventured into the public eye since the night of Voldemort's defeat.

As Harry and his friends walked into the Hall, many people hushed and stared at the teenage hero. His first thoughts were to turn and run, but his friends sensed this and blocked him, leaving the only way for him to go into the Hall. Harry's face burned red as he and his friends walked towards the Gryffindor table which housed the rest of the Weasleys. But before they made it five feet, applause rang through the Hall. People had risen to stand on the benches to get a better look at Harry Potter, others had stood to gather around him, and others yet were pointing and shouting to their friends that they knew Harry Potter.

Harry paused, which made Ron run into him, and Hermione run into Ginny, who was at his side. Ron realized that Harry was attempting to back out again, and he placed his hands on Harry's back and pushed him forward towards the table. Ginny grabbed Harry's hand while she and Hermione whispered soothing words to Harry. They finally reached the table and sat down, but the applause still rang through the room. Minerva McGonagall stood up at her place at the head table and placed the Sonorous charm on herself.

"Would everyone please quiet down?" She waited for a moment. "Thank you. I would like to make an announcement. Tomorrow is the day when the press will be allowed onto the grounds to question the Interim Minister. Several others, who we have spoken to already, will also speak to the press. Mr. Potter has agreed to speak about his adventure tomorrow, and to answer the press' questions. He asks that people please treat him as a normal human being, and do not question him about what he has been up to this last year. All questions will be answered tomorrow." Professor McGonagall looked around the room and caught Harry's eyes and he nodded to her gratefully. She smiled slightly and gave a discreet nod back to him. She turned her attention back to the crowd in front of her.

"The day after tomorrow there will be a War Memorial Ceremony. It will be a day of remembrance, but also a day of celebration. We will not be mourning our lost loved ones, but celebrating their lives.

"If there is anyone who wishes to be at these events, they will both begin at 10am sharp. After the memorial, there will be a luncheon served on the grounds for all who attend, lasting into the evening. Thank you, please enjoy the dinner the house elves have made for us all." She sat to more applause. Dinner went well, considering people kept interrupting Harry and his friends to ask him questions or congratulate him. Several twittering females kept shooting him glances and batting their eyelashes at him, but Ginny squashed those looks fast.

"I didn't realize how many people were still in the castle," Harry muttered after the twelfth person came up to him to say "Thank you." Ron was trying his best, and failing, at not laughing at Harry's predicament. Hermione was smiling at Harry pitifully, and Ginny was squeezing his hand.

"I just wish they'd leave me alone," he grumbled. "Yes, your welcome. No, really, I'm fine. Thank you. Good bye. Oh my God, if one more person comes up and thanks me like I did it for them, I'm going to go berserk," sighed Harry after the visitor left them.

"You know Harry, I've been thinking. Mum made me revise the whole time we were in hiding. If I were to take my end of term exams this summer, next year, we could all finish school at the same time. If you three were to come back, that is," Ginny said trying to take his mind off the admirers. He looked thoughtful for a moment before speaking.

"I don't know, Gin. Hogwarts without Dumbledore doesn't seem like Hogwarts." He sighed and stabbed his kidney pie with his fork with a vengeance as if it had personally offended him. She rubbed his back some more.

"But Harry think about it, you'd have a whole year to be a normal teenager!" Ginny replied enthusiastically.

"Yeah, mate, a whole year without having to worry about some mad lunatic trying to kill you at the end of the year!" Ron laughed.

"Ron!" Hermione slapped her boyfriend on the arm playfully. "Harry, they do have a point. Besides, you need your NEWT scores to be able to get into the Auror program."

"Hermione! He just defeated the darkest wizard in the last century. He doesn't need good NEWT scores to get in, he's Harry bloody Potter. They'll probably beg him to join!" Ron exclaimed, aghast. Hermione opened her mouth to retort but Harry interrupted.

"I don't want to get into the Auror program based on fame, I want to earn it like everyone else. I'm just not sure I feel up to coming back here for a whole year. No, wait, let me finish. I'm not sure _yet_, but I will think about it. Okay?" The others nodded and Harry felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned and looked down. Behind him was a tiny little boy with bright blond hair. He looked up at Harry with rapture. Harry looked at him and then around the room for a parent.

"Er, yes, are you lost?" He asked the small child. The boy shook his head no, but didn't make a sound. "Well, can I help with you something?" Harry was getting frustrated with all the adoring fans, but he was too nice to say that in front of the tyke.

"You're…really Harry Potter? Wow!" Ron was having a hard time keeping a straight face, as were Hermione and Ginny. "Er, um, could I…um, could I have your autograph, Mr. Potter, please? 'Cause…'cause, you're my hero!" Ron lost it and snorted into his baked potato, Hermione and Ginny on the other hand had misty eyes as they looked at the tiny child. Harry was dumbfounded, his jaw dropped to the floor, and his eyes widened to the size of saucers.

"My what?" he squeaked. The boy giggled.

"Your autograph, please Mr. Potter? You're my biggest hero, and you saved my cousin's life!" The boy was bouncing on the balls of his feet with his hands clasped in front of him, almost like he was about to drop to his knees and beg. Ron was failing miserably to keep from laughing, and Hermione and Ginny were both chuckling.

"Who's your cousin?" Harry asked him curiously.

"Hannah Abbott. She was in the D.A. with you, she told me all about it, how you taught her how to cast a Pat-Pa, um, the Pat—"

"Patronus?" Harry helped.

"Yeah, that. And she told me how you had to fight You-Know-Who a bunch of times and how you won each time! And she told me about how you had to fight that huge snake thing, and the dragon, and swim with the huge squid in the lake in the middle of winter, and then she told me about what happened at the Ministry of Magic, and how you fought him again! Is all that true, Mr. Potter, is it? 'Cause if it is, that means you are the bravest man in the whole world! I think it's true, 'cause why would Hannah make all that up? I know she wouldn't, 'cause she knows you personally, and she wouldn't make up stuff like that about someone she knows personally. My name's Greg, I'm eight, I'll get to come to Hogwarts in three years and learn magic so I can be brave like you and fight dragons and Chimeras and fly really fast on a broom playing Quidditch and grow up to be a great Auror and fight bad guys all the time! Is that what you're going to do, Mr. Potter, are you going to be an Auror? And fight more bad guys and make the world safe?" Harry couldn't help but think that Greg was like a younger, more hyper version of Colin and Dennis Creevey. Harry smiled and nodded as Greg continued. As the kid took a breath, Harry took his chance to speak.

"Um, Greg, you're asking a lot of questions, but not really giving me time to answer them. Please, call me Harry, I'm not quite old enough to merit a "Mr." before my name. To answer your questions, I believe you asked if all those things were true, yes, they were, but you should know that I had a lot of help most of the time. I don't know if I'm the bravest man in the world, I just did what I had to do. I've never fought a Chimera, but the Blast-Ended Skrewts were pretty nasty creatures. Er, as of right now, I'm not sure if I want to be an Auror this minute, but maybe after I finish my education and take my NEWTs then I will. I think that answers all your questions, right?" Harry was smiling and chuckling. Poor Greg looked about ready to faint when Harry handed a scrap of parchment with the words "_Stay Safe! Harry J. Potter_" scribbled across it. Greg looked up at Harry and squeaked.

"Thank you, Mr. Po-, I mean, Harry! Thank you! I will stay safe, I promise!" He turned to run off yelling, "Hannah, Hannah!"

Ron, Ginny, Hermione and several other Weasley's around them all burst out laughing at Harry's Weasley-red face. He turned and scowled at all of them. Bill turned to Harry chuckling as he asked, "What did you write on that parchment?" Harry frowned.

"Stay safe. Harry J. Potter." He muttered to the mirth of the people surrounding him. As they laughed, he realized how funny the situation really was. He also noticed that Mrs. Weasley was howling with laughter. The first time he'd seen her laugh since Fred's death. He joined in their laughter with some chuckles of his own.

Harry hated fame, but when he saw little Greg's face light up at the small piece of parchment, he figured the embarrassment was worth it to make the kid smile like that. Several more people came up to him through dessert, but the joy at making Greg so happy didn't diminish until later that night.

Harry and Ginny figured they needed some time away from the common room later that night. They decided to take an evening stroll by the lake. It was still considered dangerous outside since a dozen or so Death Eaters were still at large, but they both had their wands and both needed some air.

The two were walking slowly around the lake talking quietly about nothing of importance. When Ginny turned to him and threw her arms around him and kissed him square on the lips. He wrapped his arms around her and deepened the kiss, rubbing his hands up and down her back. They stayed this way for several minutes until they broke apart gasping for air.

"Wow! That was…intense," Ginny whispered.

"Yeah, I just…wow. You have no idea how much I have wanted to do that for the last ten months," he replied huskily.

"Oh, I have some idea, it was probably just as much as I wanted too." Ginny pulled Harry close and kissed him again. A few minutes later they pulled apart for a breather and Harry pulled Ginny's hand and they walked towards the edge of the lake. Harry conjured a blanket and they sat down under a tall oak tree. Snuggled together they sat and talked for over an hour about Harry's journey and Ginny's confinement and how much they missed each other.

"We were basically surrounded, Goblins and Death Eaters on one side and a dragon on the other. We had to choose, so guess which side we chose?" Harry was regaling her of the Gringotts break in.

"I'd guess…the dragon?" she giggled.

"You'd be guessing right. I ran over and sliced off the chains holding the dragon down and called Hermione and your brother over. We climbed on just as the dragon realized it was free. Goblins and Death Eaters were scattering when they realized that we had the dragon on our side! Well, anyways, the dragon started breathing fire and trying to break through the wall, so we helped it with some major Bludgeoning spells and it squeezed through the hole and we were free! At least until we realized that it didn't know we were there. It seemed to fly for hours! Finally, it got thirsty and flew near a lake and we were able to jump in. But if it hadn't needed that drink of water, who knows where we'd be right now." Harry was having a terrific time making Ginny gasp with fear and excitement at his stories. They didn't notice the blond witch with the long pink finger nails in the trees listening to every word a mere ten feet away. Nor did they hear her acid green quill scratching away more lies. Harry stopped talking abruptly as Ginny snuggled closer.

"Harry, have you thought about if you are going to come back to school at all? I know we all asked you at dinner, but there were a lot of people around and I figured you wouldn't answer something like that with everyone around." She was very close to him.

"Actually, Gin," Harry began, "I have thought about it a lot the last few months. I don't know if I can. Not just because of what I feel about Dumbledore, but…Remus and Tonks made me their son's godfather. Since they…since they're gone now, Teddy is my responsibility. How can I go to school and take care of a baby at the same time? I don't regret saying this at all, but Teddy comes first to me, not my education. I'll drop out so that I can take care of him, and at night, when he's asleep, I can study for my NEWTs if I'm not too tired." Harry sighed. Ginny looked out towards the lake and was silent for a few minutes.

"Harry," she began suddenly, "What about Andromeda? She's lost her whole family, don't you think that maybe she would want to take care of Teddy, raise him for Tonks and Remus? She's all alone now." Ginny whispered sadly. Harry sat up, surprised.

"I hadn't even thought of Andromeda. Oh, God, has anyone even told her about them?" he asked sadly. Ginny nodded.

"When all the dead were accounted for, a roster of all the names was made and everyone who had family who had died were notified the day after. Harry, you can't take her grandson away from her. Besides, this gives you the opportunity to finish school, get a house, go to Auror training, get married…" she giggled while she nudged his side. He smiled. "All before having to take on the responsibilities of being a parent. You can be a cool uncle-like godfather, like Sirius, be there for him when he needs you, or wants to get away from his grandma for the weekend." Ginny had, unknowingly, cheered Harry up a great deal.

"I'm not going to get my hopes up yet. As much as I would love to take care of Teddy, I'm just not ready for kids yet. I would raise him myself in a heartbeat if Andromeda decides not to. But for now, I'm just not ready for that kind of responsibility," Harry said to Ginny quietly. They sat silently for several minutes and watched the moonlight dance across the surface of the lake, giving it an ethereal glitter. Awhile went by before Harry heard Ginny sniff. No words were really needed as he pulled her closer and hugged her tightly. With this gesture, a dam broke and Ginny began to sob on his shoulder. She cried for many minutes, her heartache extracted a few tears from Harry in his own grief. As she quieted down and her sniffles were getting farther apart, she looked up into Harry's bright green eyes.

"Thank you Harry. If I had cried like that in front of anyone else, they would have said things like 'It'll be alright,' and 'He wouldn't have wanted you to cry for him.' But I don't want to hear those things, I just want to be held while I cry. You of all people know what it's like to lose someone you love. It's like, deep down, you know things will be alright, eventually, and they wouldn't have wanted you to grieve for them for so long. But at that moment, you just…"

"Don't care what anyone else thinks, they don't know what you're feeling, your emotions, because they didn't know Fred the way you did. I would never be able to say I know how you feel, because I wasn't his only sister. Just like I wouldn't be able to say it to your brothers because—"

"Don't you dare, Harry! You were as much his brother as any of them. He considered you his brother to the very end, and you can't deny him that! So you might as well get over this oh woe is me phase, because none of us will let you get a word in edgewise ever again if that's the kind of thing you'll be saying, got it?" Ginny had pulled away slightly to look him in the face while see awaited his answer. He chuckled.

"I guess I have no choice. I…I love you, Gin," he whispered. She hugged him tightly.

"I love you, too, Harry." They sat quietly for a while before Ginny sat up and looked at him. "Harry, is there anything you want to talk about? Or anyone, perhaps? I used your shoulder to cry on tonight, I want you to know, I can repay the favor." He looked thoughtful for a few minutes.

"Gin, you know I'm not the kind of guy who shows his emotions very much. I was taught at a young age that boys don't cry. That is was shameful for a boy to cry."

"I know Harry, but it's not true. Lots of guys cry. It's not good to bottle your emotions up like this. Just know that I am here for you if you ever need a shoulder to cry on." She hugged him again tightly before looking back out to the lake. The sliver of moon had risen a bit more over the trees and was lighting the whole sky.

"The moon…" Harry whispered. "Remus…" Harry choked on his words and squeezed his eyes shut. His loud sniff alerted Ginny to his true emotions. She rubbed his back and looked at his face to see a single tear trail its way down to his chin.

"It's okay, Harry. Let it out. You'll feel a bit better afterwards and it's only me here. I love you and Remus loved you." At her last words, Harry's dam broke and it was Ginny's turn to hold his as he sobbed onto her shoulder.

All the people who loved Harry and sacrificed themselves to keep him alive, all those who had died needlessly, and so many more flashed through Harry mind and he poured his heart and his tears onto his girlfriend's shoulder. Remus, who was the last link to his parents. Tonks, who had just had her first child, and who finally gave Remus what he'd always wanted: love. Dobby, who risked his life and fought his fears by going into the place of his former employers to save Harry and his friends' lives. Hedwig, who had served Harry faithfully since the day Harry had discovered this world, and been his first real friend. Mad-Eye, who had given his life to make sure Harry was safe. Colin, who had done what he was taught in the DA and still didn't make it out alive. Ted Tonks, who never got to meet his grandson and namesake. Severus Snape, who fought valiantly for the side of the light even though no one would believe him if he tried to help, who fought longer than anyone in this damn war. And finally, Fred, who loved life to the fullest, pranked the best pranks, and laughed the last laugh every time. Fred was one of the first Weasley's to extend an offer of friendship to The-Boy-Who-Lived before he even knew who he was. He'd always been just Harry to the twins, never some puffed up hero complex the press conjured up. Fred and George were the ones who would tease Harry about his fame while others side stepped or completely avoided the whole dilemma. They made Harry laughed during the Heir of Slytherin era, the Umbridge tirade, and on PotterWatch while he was running from the law. Harry was the man who gave them money to start the WWW, and Fred was the one who after only one attempt to deny the offer, thanked Harry graciously. Fred's death was going to be one of the hardest for him to get over.

As Harry's crying subsided, Ginny's hold slackened a little. He pulled back and sat upright. He looked out to the lake.

"At least now Remus won't have to go through the pain of transforming once a month. He…he was the one who taught me the Patronus charm, you know. He taught me so much that I didn't even realize until this year, until this moment really.

"The last time I really saw him and talked to him was the day Teddy was born. He burst into Shell Cottage and shouted to the moon that he was a daddy. Then he asked me if I'd be godfather to his son. I was so stunned that he even thought of me as godfather material after the way I treated him at Grimmauld Place. He had come to offer his assistance on our mission. I called him out and said he was leaving his wife and child behind because he wanted to go on an adventure. I can't believe how angry he'd gotten, but if I had to go back and do it again, I would. He left us, went back to Tonks, and they had their baby.

"I didn't see him again till right before the battle when Percy showed up and Remus shouted that he had a picture of Teddy. After that we all went our separate ways. I didn't even get to say I was sorry for the way I treated him. I called him a coward." Harry choked on a sob, and tried to calm his breathing before continuing. "I never got the chance to tell him that…I loved him, like a father figure. None of them. Sirius, Dumbledore, Remus. I loved them all and they were all ripped away from me before I could tell them how much they meant to me. Now I can't," he finished with a whisper. He was crying again, silently this time, letting the tears run down his face and off his chin. There was such emotion in his voice that Ginny couldn't help but cry for his pain. While she had lost her brother, someone she cared deeply for, Harry had lost so much more in this damn war. His parents, his godfather, his surrogate godfather, his mentor, his friends. Ginny was damn sure he wasn't going to be loosing anymore.

"I grew up without love, there's no way in hell I'm letting my godson grow up that way. I'll be there for him every step of the way. He is going to grow up knowing what love is and that I love him like my own son. No more adventures for me that could get me killed or maimed. If that means that I don't become an Auror, so be it. I really could care less about fighting any more Dark wizards for the rest of my life. I've had enough fighting to last me several lifetimes," Harry stated vehemently, then he sighed. Several minutes went by before he turned to Ginny and said, "We should be getting inside. Your mum will be sending a search party out any minute now." He stood up and reached down for her hand and pulled her to her feet. When Ginny was at her full height she stood on her tippy toes and kissed Harry full on the lips.

"What was that for?" Harry asked after they broke apart.

"For sharing your emotions with me, you big, handsome man," Ginny giggled. They turned to walk back to the castle. Suddenly, a twig snapped behind them and Harry spun around with his wand pointed towards the trees.

"_Stupefy_!" Harry shouted. The red light shot into the trees and hit its mark dead center. The two of them ran into the trees to find out who had snuck up on them. As they neared the unconscious person, Ginny gasped and Harry swore loudly. Lying on the ground before them was none other than Rita Skeeter.

"Harry! How much do you think she heard?" Ginny was frantic. Harry stepped forward, checked Rita's bag, and found used parchment containing many lies that were based around much of what Harry and Ginny had talked about in the last hour. An acid green quill and an Extendable Ear were laying across the bottom. He reached into the bag and pulled out the parchment and quill. He pocketed the Ear and leaned over Rita's body to cast the spell to bind her in ropes and the spell to keep her from transforming into her beetle form before Enervating her. She woke up drowsily and quickly realized her predicament and tried to transform but found herself unable to.

"Very good, Harry. Not many people can get the best of Rita Skeeter. Now, if you could be a doll and untie me..." Rita said this in her sickly sweet voice.

"I don't think I will, Rita. See, my girlfriend and I were having a nice little chat before and from what I see on this parchment I found in this here bag of yours, you've been listening for quite awhile. You have some pretty whopping big secrets of mine, and you were going to lie about them, too. I can't really let you get away with the knowledge of the Horcruxes see, that is privileged information, and you weren't supposed to hear any of it. So, I'm just going to destroy this parchment and since you've been so _lovely_ to me and my friends in the past, I'm going to destroy your quill of lies also." Harry was shaking with suppressed anger and Ginny could feel a definite rise in temperature around them.

"NO! Please don't, Harry! Don't destroy my quill! You can destroy the parchment, but please, not the quill!" Rita was near tears and practically screaming. Harry silenced her with a wave of his wand.

"I really don't care about your damn quill, Rita. There are so many things I want to do to you; you've destroyed lives, Rita! You told lies about everyone I know and so many more! Not to mention that damn book about Dumbledore! I wanted to hunt you down like I did Voldemort when I read that damn book! And you're an unregistered Animagus! I should bring you to the authorities for eavesdropping on me. You knew you weren't allowed on the grounds here at Hogwarts, yet you came here anyways. You deserve punishment." He levitated her and said, "Ginny, come on. We're going to see McGonagall." Ginny followed Harry, who was taking care to make sure Rita bounced against as many trees as possible on their way to the castle.

They neared the head office soon after and said the password to pass by the gargoyle. As Harry and Ginny spiraled upwards, Rita bumped the stairs a few times, unnoticed by either of the teens. When Harry knocked they heard the usual "Enter" from the headmistress. Harry opened the door and stepped inside and grinned. Inside the room was every member of the Order. Just what he needed.

Kingsley stepped forward and said, "Yes, Harry? Can we help you with something?"

"Yes," Harry replied. "I brought you a little present, Kingsley. I found this, lurking around the edge of the forest," he thrust Rita's bound body forward into the view of the entire room. Many of the people gasped.

"Rita Skeeter? Well done lad! How'd you get her still long enough to bind and silence her?" asked Kingsley.

"Well, if she hadn't have broken a twig under her foot, I wouldn't have Stunned her through the trees. I also found this stuff in her bag." He dumped the parchment and quill onto the desk. "Ginny and I had been sitting and talking for well over an hour, about a lot of different things. Mainly the things that had happened to us over the last ten months. We also had a few discussions about the ones we've lost. She's recorded everything we said, and made side notes about how to twist them into innuendo and lies. I already threatened to destroy them; there are things in there that aren't supposed to get out to the public. But I would also like the permission to destroy her Quick-Quotes-Quill as well. It's caused me much annoyance over the years." Harry looked at Kingsley. "And if I get the express permission of the Minister…" Harry waited patiently, whereas Rita was violently thrashing trying to get loose. She looked as if she were screaming her head off but no sound she uttered graced their ears. Ginny was waiting anxiously, holding her breath.

"I see no reason you shouldn't destroy it. They are horrible things. Actually, if Ginny would like to help you, I believe it takes a lot of power to destroy them, if you catch my drift." Kingsley winked as Ginny let out her breath with a smile on her face. Rita stopped squirming to watch, helplessly.

Harry and Ginny raised their wands and simultaneously shouted "_Incendio!"_ The small crowd in the room cheered, while the ever silent Rita looked on horrified. The two then turned on the parchment and repeated the fire spell. Harry watched the parchment burn with intense satisfaction. After it was nothing but a pile of ashes he turned to Rita and lifted the silencing spell.

"WHY YOU LITTLE BRATS! YOU'VE JUST RUINED MY CAREER! I HATE YOU! YOU'RE A BLOODY LITTLE ARSEHOLE. AND YOU, YOU'RE A LITTLE BITCH! I'LL GET YOU BOTH IN YOUR SLEEP, I WILL!" Rita was silenced by someone else in the room. Harry was more than a little grateful.

"Rita, you just made a big mistake: you insulted the girl I love, and you will pay. Kingsley, this pathetic excuse for a woman just threatened me and my girlfriend so I have no qualms about telling you this: she is an unregistered Animagus. She takes the form of a beetle. It's how she gets all her information without anyone seeing her." To say that everyone was stunned by this revelation would have been a horrible understatement. Rita look about ready to pass out she was so angry.

"Is that so, Mr. Potter? Professor McGonagall, is Ms. Skeeter on the registry? I don't recall seeing her there." Kingsley asked.

"No, I believe she isn't registered. No where on the list have I seen her name," McGonagall replied with a huge smile on her face. For a respectable professor, she seemed to take great pleasure in dooming this particular woman.

"Well, if I am correct then that means that, Rita Skeeter, you are under arrest for becoming an illegal Animagus, not registering, using said ability to illegally obtain information, and spread lies about people, and-- what else?-- oh, ignoring the rules that state you can not be on Hogwarts grounds. You have the right to remain silent," Kingsley sniggered a bit at this. "And you have the right to a barrister and if you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you. Do you understand?" Rita nodded angrily. "Good. Now sit quietly for a while and be a good little bug." Harry laughed loudly.

"Kingsley, should we wipe her memory of what she overheard? Some of it was pretty confidential. You never know, the Daily Prophet might ask her to do an expose on life inside Azkaban," Ginny asked over Harry's laughter. Harry quieted down to hear the answer.

"Normally, I would do that, but I have a whole country watching my every move right now. If the public were to find out that I allowed a prisoners memory to be wiped before questioning her, it could make them very mad. I'll make sure the Auror's questioning her know the story, just in case she let's something slip. Is that okay?" Harry and Ginny nodded. They turned to leave, but Ginny turned around and walked over to Rita.

"Bitch, am I?" She punched the older witch across the jaw which caused the blonde's head to connect with the wall behind her. "That should teach you to mess with a Weasley, you horrible _old_ cow." As everyone in the room, except Kingsley who had a smile on his face, but was looking at something on his fingernails, looked shocked at the younger girl's language, Harry and Ginny left the room.

"I can't believe you said that in front of the whole Order! Gin that was brilliant!" Harry was practically prancing he was so happy. Ginny smiled, but suddenly the smile disappeared from her face.

"Harry, you don't think Kingsley is mad at me? I harassed a prisoner and she could cry mistreatment. What if she gets away on a technicality because of me?" Ginny was near panic before Harry calmed her down.

"Gin, it's alright! Kingsley wasn't watching. He won't let her get off, I promise. Now, lets go up and get some sleep. Tomorrow's going to be hell." They climbed the stairs and entered the empty common room. It took them several minutes to say "Good night" before they parted ways for the night.

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A/n: Ok so newly edited by my great beta, eclipsed heart. Check her out!

Coming up: Harry takes incriminating photos of his best friends and a PRESS CONFERENCE!


	5. The Public Informed

**A/N: I am editing all old chapters, they will be marked with a 'be' at the beginning of the title.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Or Ron, Hermione, Ginny, George, any of the Weasleys, or other minor characters. I do own my own books and movies though, and trading cards, and Bertie Botts Every Flavor beans and Jelly Slugs. Oh and the soundtracks! lol

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**'be'_ The Public Informed_**

The next morning, Harry awoke very early. He glanced out of the window to notice that the sun was barely rising over the trees. He laid back down on his pillow and thought about the day ahead of him. He knew the day would be long and torturously sad. The press conference would make some horrible memories resurface, and as much as he didn't want to share them with everyone, at least he'd have Ron and Hermione there with him.

Harry lay there for a quarter of an hour before he decided to get up. He went through his morning ritual of a shower and shave before re-entering the dorm room. Due to their extremely loud snoring, the Weasley men who were sharing the dorm room graciously consented to placing Silencing charms around their beds. Harry, who was eternally grateful for this, walked over to Ron's bed keen on waking his friend up with a good whack of a pillow up side the head. He stuck his head in the drapes of Ron's bed opening his mouth to shout, but the sight before him shocked him to his very core. He pulled his head out of Ron's bed and stumbled backwards until his legs hit his bed and caused him to sit fast. For several moments Harry mimicked a goldfish before his mind caught up with what he saw. Harry started laughing. He laughed for a few moments before he sat back up and wiped his eyes.

"Well, as much as I love those two, I hope to never see that again," he muttered to himself. He stood up and conjured a camera, walked back to Ron's bed, and stuck his head back in with his eyes nearly closed as said, "Aw, isn't this just a-DOR-able? Okay, now say cheese!" Harry snapped a picture just as Ron and Hermione both sat straight upright, clutching the sheets to their chests. Harry could see stray articles of clothing on the headboard above their heads as he snapped a few more pictures.

"Bloody hell Harry, are you trying to give me a heart attack?" Ron asked as he lay back down. Suddenly, he bolted upright again realizing why Harry would take a picture of him waking up. "HARRY POTTER! YOU BETTER GIVE ME THOSE PICTURES RIGHT NOW, OR I'LL CURSE YOU SO BAD YOU CAN'T—"

"Ronald Weasley, you shut you're loud mouth right now before your brothers hear you!" Hermione hissed through her teeth. Ron immediately shut up, glaring at Harry.

"Looks like you two had fun last night. You both better be dressed soon and perhaps not in the same bed, it's almost time for everyone to get up. Just be glad it was me who found you and not Mrs. Weasley. Tootles!" With that Harry snapped one last picture, turned and left the room laughing softly at their horrified faces, and with camera in hand.

Harry was still chuckling as he entered the common room. He looked around and saw Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Bill, Fleur, and Ginny all sitting around talking. They looked up as he entered.

"Good morning Harry," Mrs. Weasley greeted.

"What are you so happy about this early in the morning? And what's with the camera?" Ginny asked as she stood up to give him a peck on the cheek.

"Oh, nothing really. Just happy. The camera?" Harry looked down and realized that he had it. "Um, well, er, I was wondering if one of you could maybe take some pictures today for me. I, er, want to remember it." Harry finished lamely. Ginny looked at him curiously, while Mrs. Weasley teared up.

"Oh, Harry dear, of course we'll take pictures for you. Here, I'll hold onto that." She reached over to take the camera from him. He reluctantly handed it over. Ginny caught his eye and raised her eyebrow, he had to fight a laugh from escaping. He discreetly winked at her and nodded towards the door. She rose and told her parents she and Harry were heading down for breakfast, she took Harry's hand and they left the common room. When they were out of hearing range Harry burst out laughing. He laughed so hard he had to lean against a wall for support. Ginny who had really never seen Harry laugh so hard, was stunned.

"Er, Harry, love? What's so funny?" she asked him warily. It took all his strength to tone down his laughter, but he managed to do so eventually. Still, he ended up sitting on the ground with Ginny crouched next to him, concern etched on her face.

"Oh, sorry Gin, really, it's just so…I forgot I had the camera when I came down. I honestly hope your parents don't develop that film." The thought of what Ron's face would look like if his mum did see those pictures caused him to laugh some more.

"Er, Harry, I think you need to explain some more," said Ginny, who finally realized that Harry hadn't lost his mind. She sat down next to him on the floor.

"Sorry. Okay, so this morning I found Ron and a certain someone in the same bed. I happened to wake the two by snapping some excellent pictures. And then I just gave your mum the camera with the film holding those pictures. I just keep seeing Ron's face when he realizes his mum has the pictures." They both started laughing hard enough to need to hold each other up.

"Oh, Harry this is such great blackmail! I could hold this over Ron for so long!" Ginny wiped the tears off her face.

"Ah, ah, ah, Miss Weasley. May I remind you, I took those pictures. So, it's my blackmail material to be used at MY discretion. Besides, Ron's not the only one in them, I wouldn't want to anger Hermione. She knows way too many curses to be on her bad side," Harry said as they walked towards the Great Hall.

"Too true, Mr. Potter, too true. But I think we'll think of something. Maybe let Hermione know that we'd never actually use them. What do you think?"

"Possibly. But first we need that camera. It won't do any good if your mother sees them. So, I am going to put you to the task of retrieving that camera. Okay?" She nodded and saluted him. "Good. Now I have a big day ahead of me, I need a big breakfast. Shall we?" He held out his arm for her to take and they entered the Hall together.

* * *

A short while later the rest of the Weasleys showed up. Ron and Hermione were holding hands and both blushed at the sight of Harry. Harry acted like he didn't know anything. Ginny on the other hand, glanced at her brother and Hermione and when they saw her watching them she raised her eyebrows a few times and winked at them. Ron had the decency to act like he didn't see her, but Hermione blushed and ducked her head to try and hide it. Harry smirked and continued to eat his breakfast.

"Okay, Harry, you'll need to wear your dress robes for the press conference today. Ron and Hermione, you'll both need dress robes also. The rest of us will be in the crowd watching the whole thing. Now, there will be no reason to worry, I'm sure you'll need to gather with the rest of the speakers before hand," Mrs. Weasley was rambling. Harry, realizing what he was going to be doing later in the day, tensed. Ginny who was sitting next to him noticed and took his hand in hers.

"It'll be fine. You'll do great. The press won't bother you too much with Kingsley around and Rita has been taken care of. All you have to do is get up there and tell your story. Ron and Hermione will be right there with you, and I will be in the crowd watching and waiting for you to be done, so that we can wander off on our own and relax by the lake by ourselves and think about nothing. Okay?" Ginny whispered in his ear while her mother kept rambling. Harry looked at her with wide eyes. _How does she know what I'm thinking? Can she read my mind?_

"Don't be silly. It's not like I can read your mind. I felt you tense, and knew that you were worried about today." Ginny giggled at his even more astonished look. Everyone finished up their breakfast and went their separate ways for prepare for the press conference. As Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione were all leaving, Headmistress McGonagall walked up to them and requested that the trio would join her in her office to talk about the conference.

"Go on. I'll be in the common room when you get done. If it takes all day, I'll see you after the thing. Okay?" Ginny pecked him on the check and walked away from them. A thought came to Harry and he yelled, "Ginny! Hold on a sec," and he ran up to her. Ron and Hermione watched them talk for a minute and then saw Ginny nod her head. Harry thanked her and walked back to them.

The trio followed the professor to her office for a meeting of what they would cover in their speech and who would cover what. An hour later they were walking down to the front lawns. When they arrived a little early they saw that the grounds had been transformed. What had once been a slightly hilly expanse from the front steps down to the lake, now was a large stage with several chairs on it and a podium. Several hundred chairs were facing the stage, a smaller podium placed at the front of all the chairs in the middle of the isle for people to ask their questions from. A dozen or so workers were wandering around placing charms around so people could hear questions from all directions. There were two very large chairs to the side of the sea of chairs, obviously made for a half-giant and one full giant.

Harry looked towards the gates and saw several groups of people walking closer. Many of them had cameras and were taking pictures of the scorch marks on the ground, and the school which had very visible damage to several areas. Harry grabbed Ron and Hermione's arms and dragged them away. They still had a half an hour till they were needed again. They got the hint and followed him towards the lake.

"Oh, I hope that horrible woman doesn't show her face. I swear, I'll hex her so fast…" Hermione was looking around as if to search for a bug with spectacle shapes around the eyes.

"Don't worry, I took care of Rita Skeeter last night." Harry said with a smile. They both turned to look at him.

"Harry, I know you asked specifically that she not be allowed but we all know her little secret. There's really no way for us to not—"

"Yes, we all know her secret and now so does the Ministry." Harry laughed at the expression on her face. A mix of incredulity and shock, and a little disappointment.

"What do you mean, Harry?" Ron asked.

"Well, last night Ginny I spent about an hour talking about everything, and I mean _everything_. As we were about to leave to come inside, I heard a twig snap behind me. I spun around and Stunned who was in the bushes behind us. When I went to look, it was Rita. I took her wand, bound her and placed that handy anti-transform spell you told us about," he nodded to Hermione. "Then I Enervated her and told her I was going to destroy her notes and her quill. She screamed, cried, and threw a hissy fit when I told her we were going to turn her in, so she got angry. Ginny and I brought her to McGonagall's office, where an Order meeting was in full swing, with the Minister himself in attendance. I told them I found her sneaking around, listening to me talk about everything, and showed them her notes. Kingsley said he'd take care of it. She called Ginny a few bad names and to anger her more I spilled about her being unregistered. Kingsley is going to question her and charm her memory for us. She's also going to be spending some time in good ol' Azkaban, for not registering." Harry smiled at them. Ron looked ecstatic, but Hermione looked almost disappointed.

"What's wrong Hermione? I thought this would make you happy," Harry asked quietly.

"Oh, I am happy Harry, I'm glad she's being put away. It's just…I kinda wish I had been there to see it. She's been so horrible for so long, I would have liked to see that bitch come crashing down," said Hermione as she looked out to the lake. The guys were silent for a long time, so she turned around to see their faces so shocked. "What?" she asked though she thought she might know their answer.

"Hermione…you cussed! I just…I…I think my world just unraveled a bit," Harry joked while she hit him in the arm. Ron was gaping. Harry nudged him. Ron looked at Harry then at Hermione.

"Harry…I've said it before and I'll say it again; I think we're a bad influence on her." Ron laughed and so did Harry. Hermione huffed, then joined in their laughter. They sat and laughed together reminiscing about their days before the war for several long minutes until it was time to rejoin the crowd.

"Where have you three been? I have been looking for you everywhere! You three need to change into your robes, now! You have five minutes before you're needed on stage, here I brought your robes with me, just use that antechamber off the Great Hall, and then bring me your used robes. Hurry now!" Mrs. Weasley ushered them inside. Hermione went first into the chamber to provide her with more privacy. A few minutes later she emerged and handed her stuff to the frazzled older woman while the boys ran inside and changed in under a minute. The emerged looking as though they changed inside a tornado and the two women sighed and each took one of the guys aside and fixed them up as best they could in one minute.

They turned and ran towards the stage, leaving Mrs. Weasley behind when they heard the sound of the bells ringing to announce the start of the press conference. They burst out onto the stage and took their seats just as Kingsley turned to look for them. He smiled at them and turned towards the huge crowd.

"Ahem, may I please have your attention? Thank you. My name is Kingsley Shacklebolt, and I am your Interim Minister. We are here today to discuss the battle that happened the night of May the 1st and continued until morning of May the 2nd. This was the battle to end the war, finally.

"I will answer the one question everyone has been asking: Yes, Voldemort is dead. Undeniably, incontrovertibly dead. His body is being held at a safe location and being watched for extra measure, but there is no question in my mind, I am one thousand percent sure he is not going to be returning." After Kingsley finished his short spiel about how dead the ex-dark lord now was, cheers rang out from the whole crowd. Even the people who were there to see him fall were cheering and openly crying. People were hugging people they didn't know, others were telling anyone who'd listen that they were there and watched the bastard fall. For several long minutes everyone celebrated with everyone else.

"Please quiet down. Can we have some order here? Thank you. I understand that you are all relieved and happy, but I must insist that we carry ourselves with a bit of decorum and modesty. We are all happy he is gone for good, but we have to remember our laws. Please don't go around spouting off fireworks and shouting to the heavens that You-Know-Who is gone to any and all who will listen, we cannot afford to have the Muggles learn about us. In the days to come, the Ministry will be taking any offense to the Statue of Secrecy very seriously. If you are caught breaking the law, don't expect the Ministry to go easy on you just because you were celebrating. Being careless is no excuse to allow the Muggles to learn of our existence." Kingsley continued for a short while about laws and rules, what he was planning for the Ministry in the months to come, and so on. Harry had spent much time the last few hours thinking about what he would say to the crowd of press. He figured the truth was the best bet, but what did he want to hide from them all? The Horcruxes for sure, and the Hallows, but what else was required of him? Should he explain why Voldemort was searching for him? What if someone asked why he chose to bring the fight to Hogwarts? He hoped that no one asked certain questions because he would find it hard to answer. He barely listened to Kingsley's speech, because he was worrying so much about his own speech he was about to make. He was jerked out if his musings when he heard his name.

"I will be answering any questions you may have afterwards, but now I hand the stage over to Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, and Hermione Granger to tell their story." Kingsley stepped away and waved his wand extending the podium to fit the three of them comfortably with three magical microphones attached. The three walked up to it slowly, glancing at the others out of the corners of their eyes. They arrived at the podium together and looked out at the crowd. Harry took a deep breath and cleared his throat.

"Th-Thank you all for being here today. I, er, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to talk about so I'll just start at the end of last summer. I was staying at the Weasley's house for their son Bill's wedding. During the wedding, Minister Scrimgeour was killed. We got a warning from someone during the reception of the wedding and Ron, Hermione, and I Apparated away. I knew Voldemort was after me, and that he had his claws in the Ministry, so I had to stay away. I had to accomplish a few tasks to make sure he would actually die this time before I could finish him. I can't go into details of that because it's confidential Ministry information, and I wouldn't go into it if you asked. Some things need to stay secret.

"Now, when I was fifteen months old, Voldemort killed my parents and tried to kill me. The reason he came after me in the first place was a prophecy made about the two of us. It was stated as thus: '_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches. Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies, and the Dark Lord will mark him as equal-'_" Harry pointed to his scar. "'-_but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not. Either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives._' I know many of you read the Prophet when it claimed me to be the Chosen One last year, I guess it was correct.

"Long story short, he didn't hear the whole thing, tried to kill me after killing my family, it rebounded and hit him. He was vaporized and his soul set loose, his body was gone, and I was sent to live with some muggle relatives of mine. When I was finally told about the Prophecy at the age of fifteen, Albus Dumbledore told me his thoughts on what my so-called power-he-knows-not was. He told me it was love, or more like the ability to love others. My mother sacrificed herself to save my life. She stepped in front of the curse and took it for me, therefore placing upon me a blood protection based on her love. Voldemort couldn't touch me without feeling horrendous pain, he also couldn't find me if I was taken in by my mothers blood relatives, her sister.

"Voldemort, on the other hand, grew up in an orphanage, he never really felt the love of a family, never had a girlfriend, he lived his life friendless, only having meaningless minions following his every order. His whole life was based around fear, his followers feared the retribution of failing, so they tried their hardest not to fail.

"The scar you all hold in the highest of regards, acted like a link between my mind and Voldemorts. I could feel his strong emotions of hate, and pleasure at causing pain. Every time he cast the torture curse, I felt him feeling happy. He could also send me visions, like what happened in my fifth year. Some visions saved lives, others didn't." Harry paused and made a lightning quick decision. He continued, knowing that the public needed to know.

"I have fought Voldemort nearly my whole life. I just had a ten year hiatus before I came to school. Without going into details I have fought Voldemort or his followers every year since my fist year. Seven years I've been in the Wizarding world, and everyone of them I have fought for my life. This fight was not just mine though. Many more people have been fighting for a lot longer than I have." Harry paused and the audience was silent, waiting for him to continue.

"I'm telling you all this so that you know, I didn't just spend the last ten months fighting that snake-like bastard, I've spent nearly my whole life fighting him because of a prophecy made before I was even born. I didn't have to fight, the reason I always seemed to be fighting is because Voldemort set such store by the prophecy and came after me. He believed that if _he _didn't fight _me_, _he'd _be in danger all _his _life. That's the way he saw it. I fought because of all the people in my life who sacrificed themselves for me to live. I wasn't going to let their sacrifices be in vain. All I've ever wanted is to live a normal life, be a normal teenager, without the hassels of saving the Ministry from Dark Lords. All I ask of you is please don't treat me like I'm the only one who fought, because so many people were involved in this war. I wasn't the only one. Too many lost their lives or the lives of loved ones. I never wanted to be this hero placed on a pedestal; I'm not perfect, so please don't treat me like I am. Thank you." Harry waited for the applause to die down before turning to Ron. He held in a chuckle as he saw his friend swallow and take a deep breath before stepping closer to the podium. Ron cleared his throat.

"A-hem, well, my name for those of you who don't know it, is Ron Weasley. I was with Harry for most of the last ten months helping him plan and strategize." The trio had all decided what each would talk about during the speech, and all agreed that certain white lies were acceptable of the situation. "Most of the ten months, we were in hiding, planning the battle and working our way through a few obstacles Voldemort placed in our way.

"We spent most of our time in many different locations. We'd Apparate to a new location nearly everyday. We slept in a tent and often times had to scrounge a forest for food. There were a few times we came into near contact with wizards, the more memorable event was when we had to break into Gringotts." The crowd gasped. And the three chuckled.

"I won't go into detail about _why _we had to do this, I'll just say that there was an object that we needed to get from Bellatrix Lestrange's vault that was crucial to the defeat of the Dark Tosser. What I will tell you is that we were found out by the goblins, pretty quickly I might add. Our only way to escape was to free the dragon gaurding the Lestrange vault. We rode the dragon out of Gringotts and halfway to Hogwarts. When it flew over a small lake to take a drink we dove into the lake and swum for shore. When we got to shore and the dragon flew away, we were able to calm our nerves and apparate to Hogsmeade. We accidently set off the Catterwauling charm set on the town and had to escape the Death Eaters stationed their by help of Aberforth Dumbledore. He was able to convince the people chasing us that the stag Patronus they saw Harry let off, was accually his goat Patronus. They weren't the most intellegent of Death Eaters, I'd say." The crowd laughed and the trio saw Aberforth laughing very hard at the back of the crowd, which made them all smile.

"Well, he was able to get us into the school by means of a secret passageway. It was there that everything began." Ron looked at Hermione and she took up her place in the speech.

"Well, my name is Hermione Granger. I guess I'll explain the group of people who showed up to help us fight. In our fifth year, Dolores Umbridge was our Defense professor. She refused to teach us practical defense so it was my idea to have Harry teach us all how to fight so that we could pass our O.W.L.s. He was the only one of us, besides a select few, to have actually fought Death Eaters and Voldemort and survive, so it was a logical choice. Besides, he was top of our year in Defense for a few years in a row. We started a defense club, that was quickly banned by Umbridge because the Ministry, and by Ministry I mean Fudge, thought that Dumbledore was creating an army to take over the Ministry. Which is a load of tosh really. Dumbledore had nothing to do with our club besides being the namesake, we named the club Dumbledore's Army, or the D.A. for short. Our purpose was to learn how to defend ourselves and those around us to keep us all safe. We all knew that there would be a war soon, so we learned to fight.

"It was this group that either left their dorms or came to the school a few nights ago to help us fight. Everyone in the D.A. fought bravely and we can't thank you all enough. If it weren't for everyone who fought, we never would have won this war. Harry, Ron and I would like to thank you all for joining us." Hermione stepped back from the podium to thunderous applause.

"Ok, well, we'll now answer a few questions from the audience. You over there." Hermione pointed to a man wearing bright blue robes and carrying a Muggle notebook and pen.

"Yes, my question is for Mr. Potter. I heard someone say that you think Sirius Black is innocent? How is that possible?"

"Well," Harry started, "It all has to do with when my parents went into hiding. They had their house put under the Fidelius charm. Everyone believed that they would use Sirius as the Secret Keeper because he was my father's best friend. Sirius knew this and told them to use Peter Pettigrew because no one would suspect him. It was the mistake that led to their deaths, because Pettigrew was already working for Voldemort. The scene that everyone knows, that Sirius cornered Pettigrew on a crowded street and proceeded to blow it up is wrong. Sirius did go after Pettigrew, but what no one knows is that Peter Pettigrew was a rat Animagus. My father and his friends all secretly learned to be an Animagus in school. He had his wand behind his back and he cut off his finger, blew up the street, transformed, and spent the next twelve years as a rat. Sirius was sent to Azkaban without a trial and without a chance to defend himself. And because the Ministry was so hurried and unfair, an innocent man spent twelve years of his life suffering in Azkaban, then the next two years of his life in hiding. This was a severe injustice because not only did an innocent life suffer, but my godfather was taken away, and Remus Lupin lost not only his two friends to death and me to my relatives, but he also lost a best friend to prison and who he thought was a best friend murdered by the other. So many lives were ruined that night, because one man made a bad decision." Harry stepped back ending his speech and chose another person.

"Yes, my question is for Ron Weasley. You said that breaking into Gringotts was the most memorable of your encounters, were there others as daring as that one?" All three of them laughed, Ron looked at them and they nodded.

"Well, actually yes, there was one other break-in we did, but that one almost ended in disaster so we didn't really think we should bring it up."

"Oh, Ron, there were other reasons we didn't bring it up, like for example it was in the Ministry." Hermione laughed as the crowd gasped. More hands raised up, but Hermione told them to wait while Ron told the story. They answered the press' questions for ten minutes, and the final question was aimed at Harry.

"Mr. Potter, what did you think of Severus Snape being appointed Headmaster? Do you support the appointment of Headmistress McGonagall for the new term?"

The three of them looked at each other and smiled sadly.

"I whole-heartedly support Professor McGonagall as Headmistress, she's an excellent professor and she's great at her job. She knows how to discipline and yet still be able to show support to that person without showing favoritism. She'll be an excellent Headmistress." The trio saw McGonagall at the side of the crowd dab at her eyes in a rare show of emotion.

As that was the last question Ron and Hermione began to turn around to sit back down but Harry stepped forward once more. Ron and Hermione looked confused for a moment until they heard what Harry said next.

"There is one more person I would like to talk about before I sit back down." Ron and Hermione smiled their encouragement to Harry before they turned and walked back to their seats.

"Their was one person who fought bravely since before I was born and up until his death a few days ago. Before I tell you his name, I'd like to tell you all a story. If you understand at any point who I'm talking about, please stay quiet and hear the rest of the story:

"A young man, who grew up in a broken home, came to Hogwarts. He was taught just like all the other kids. As he grew up he fell in love, with a beautiful young lady. The problem was, he was a Slytherin and she was a Gryfindor. She was a Muggle-born and he was a half-blood. The group of people who were friends with the young lady teased and tourtured the young man all his school life. The young lady fell in love with one of his tormenters and they left school and got married and had a child together. This young man became a Death Eater.

"The young man still loved this young lady even though she was lost to him. He didn't know that when he told his master what he had over heard at a bar one night, it would send his master after his only love. When he found out that the information he had given his master would lead to the deaths of James and Lily Potter, he fled to the only man he knew would give him salvation and a chance to explain, Dumbledore. He explained that he loved Lily Potter and would never cause her harm intentionally. Dumbledore said he would do all in his power to save them. Dumbledore let the man repent and provided him with a chance to redeem himself. He became a spy for the Order of the Phoenix. Soon after that my parents were killed and I defeated Voldemort as a 15-month old child. The young man was horrified by what he had done, and vowed to Dumbledore that he would never be on the same side of the man who killed his only love, Lily. He vowed to help Dumbledore to protect the child of his love, me, for my mother's sake.

"Years later, I was brought to a graveyard and Voldemort was resurected. The young man was told he must return to be the spy the Order needed. He returned to Voldemort's side and brought news to the Order. A few years later Dumbeldore revealed a secret to the man which infuriated him. Dumbledore knew that I would need to sacrifice myself to stop Voldemort and the man said that he had not spent the last decade and a half trying to keep me safe only to let myself die for the greater good. Dumbledore asked him if he cared for me, and the man said, it was all for her, Lily. He then sent off his Patronus, which took the shape of a doe, the same Patronus that my mum had. It proved to Dumbledore that this man was truly and forever on the side of good.

"Later that year, Dumbledore was injured and knew that this injury would eventually kill him. He was also informed of a plot against his life by one Draco Malfoy. He didn't want Malfoy to become a murderer, so he planned with the man that when the opportune moment came, the man would kill Dumbeldore and gain Voldemort's total trust. This way the man would be able to help the Order in ways that no one else could. This man's name was Severus Snape." The audience was in an uproar. People were screaming that in no way could Snape, the man who had killed Dumbledore, be innocent. Harry held up his hand again and waited for calm to restore.

"I know that you all find this difficult to take in, believe me, I was there when Snape killed my mentor. I saw his face and heard him utter that spell. It wasn't until about thirty minutes before I went to Voldemort that I believed that Snape was truly innocent. I saw his memories of the past. I know they were not tampered with because I have seen tampered memories. Snape was innocent. He became headmaster to the school on Voldemort's orders…and Dumbledore's. We all know that Dumbledore trusted Snape explicitly, and now I do, too. I watched Voldemort kill Snape in cold blood. Snape spent his life as a spy, gaining information for the good, and feeding just enough information to the bad side to keep us all safe and yet keep himself in the inner circle of Voldemort's. We need to remember him as he was, but also remember him as a hero, because that was what he was. It takes more courage and bravery than even I have to do what Snape did.

"I wanted to tell you all this so you would know that he was a hero and that he derserves to be remembered as one. Thank you." Harry stepped away from the platform and sat back down while the audience applauded him. Kingsley stood back up and started talking about how he had also seen the memories and that what Harry had said was true. Ron and Hermione, who hadn't known that Harry was going to speak about Snape started whispering to him.

"You did the right thing Harry, Dumbledore would be proud," Hermione said to him.

"Yeah, but I'm sure Snape would have hated the fact that you told everyone that he loved your mum," Ron said, which made Harry chuckle.

"Too true, mate, too true," Harry whispered back quietly. He tuned into the end of Kingsley's speech.

"I want it to be known that the way the Ministry has been run in the past was old fashioned. Changes _will_ be made. Bribery and blackmail will not be tolerated, and anyone found to be dealing in the Dark Arts will be immediately discharged and sentenced.

"Victems of the _corrupt Ministry _will be reimbursed with new wands or have their wands returned to them, and anyone deemed as an Undesirable, will be examined by a pannel and those who pass will no longer be Undesirable. They will receive a reward for having to deal with the _corrupt Ministry _and for the problems this title has caused. The public will be offered classes to learn how to defend themselves so that they can defend their families and themselves from danger. No longer will we leave the public to defend themselves in trying times. No longer will we try to use people for our own gains or to make the public feel safer.

"I vow that while I am Interim Minister, changes will be made for the good. This concludes the press conference. Reporters have five minutes to remove themselves and their photographers from the grounds now. And I would like to remind everyone that the memorial tomorrow will begin at ten AM sharp. Thank you."

Kingsley turned around to thunderous applause and walked off the stage and into the school. He was followed by the trio. They all walked to the Head's office for a quick meeting to discuss the next day's celebrations.

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A/N: well this was a little drawn out, for anyone who has been wondering, the major plot line of this story is healing. There will be a few sub-plots in a little bit, but I wanted to let veyone know this. I seem to be loosing a lot of people after the first chapter, and It's bugging me a little. I made sure that it was very clear that the first chapter was a review ch. And that no one should judge my story by that chapter…but for some reason, I have just over 200 hits on chapter 1, but barely 150 is the following three chapters…which tells me people are reading the first chapter and not continuing. If there are people out there who like my story, please review and let me know that. It helps a lot to know I have people out there who like it. Critisism is welcome, point out any errors you may see, whatever. For having over 350 hits and only 2 reviews…it's a little depressing. You can also email me any questions you may have about plot line and where the story is going, I'll always reply! Thanks!


	6. George's attempt

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, this is not my invention that has rocked the world. It is my story line though.

A/N: Tissue alert! Major tear jerker chapter!  
**A/N 2: I am editing the older chapters, the newly edited ones wil have a 'be' in the title. Thanks to eclipsed heart for betaing this one! **

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'**be' **_**George's Attempt**_

The trio showed up in the common room after lunch to get Ginny and then go for a walk. They walked around the school and watched the construction for a while.

"Hey, we should go see if the Room of Requirement still works," Ron suggested, and they all turned to walk to the seventh floor. As they got to the area, Ron and Ginny slowed down, realizing what went on here that night. Harry and Hermione noticed that the sibling pair were slowing down and slowed with them. As they neared the hallway and they saw the destruction before them, Ginny broke down and started crying. Seeing Ginny's tears started Hermione crying. Ron was obviously having a hard time trying to be a man about his emotions, but Harry saw through him easily. Harry had Ginny crying on his shoulder and Ron had Hermione on his. Harry reached over and placed his hand on Ron's shoulder, and Ron closed his eyes. A tear rolled down his face and he angrily swiped it away.

"Ron, it's okay. It's just us four. We're not going to judge you if you cry. He was your brother." Harry's kind words caused something in Ron to break and he fell to his knees bringing Hermione with him, he sobbed into Hermione's hair and she cried on his shoulder. Harry brought Ginny to the ground a little gentler and they held each other and cried together.

A half an hour later, the four of them were just sitting on the floor staring at the gaping hole in the wall several stories high. They sat in silence, thinking about their fallen friend and brother.

"You know," Ginny broke the silence. "I'm going to miss the way they finished each others conversations. You never knew who was talking, and sometimes it gave you a headache bouncing your head back and forth to follow them, but it was funny and it made me laugh every time." Ginny giggled while a tear rolled down her cheek.

"I'll miss the way they joked with Mum about getting their names mixed up, and switching places. I'll never forget the Gred and Forge bit they did." Ron chuckled while he also had a tear escape.

"You know what? I think that's the first joke I ever heard them do. It was when your family helped me get onto the platform the first time. I was fascinated by the way they acted, because I had grown up where jokes were practically forbidden. I didn't know people actually acted that way until I met them." Harry laughed quietly. Hermione giggled.

"I remember the first time I met them. It was on the train to school. It was right after I met you two for the first time. They overheard me tell Ron he had dirt on his nose as I left the compartment. They followed me and came into an empty compartment with me and Neville. They sat there and told me things about Hogwarts that were both fascinating and wildly untrue. They said things like, every student had to drink their potions they made in potions class to get rid of them, so I'd better make them perfect each time or I'd be poisoned…I wonder if that's why Neville was so bad at potions. Anyways, after a while they asked us if we wanted a sweet, because the wait until dinner would be a long one. Neville and I said sure and they gave us an early version of the canary creams, except they turned us purple. When I changed back I yelled at them until we arrived at the school. They laughed at me, and as they walked out they said something along the lines of 'We need to get that one in our clutches, she'll be great to try things on.' I was so furious. I never would have thought that I'd look back on that and laugh." Hermione was giggling. The three of them reminisced for a while before Harry stood up.

"We came up here to see if the Room of Requirement still worked; I forgot until now. Should we try it?" he asked them. The three stood up and followed Harry a little ways down the hall. "Which room should I ask for?" he asked.

"Well, I wouldn't ask for the room of junk that burned. Ask for something simple, like a small library with some comfy sofas," Hermione suggested.

"Only Hermione, would ask for a library." Ron whispered which earned a smack from his girlfriend. Harry smiled and walked back and forth three times. He didn't expect a door to show up and when he opened his eyes he gasped. There before him was the door. Ron and Hermione were still arguing and Ginny was watching them with a smile on her face. None of them noticed the door Harry stood before, until he cleared his throat. They all turned and collectively gasped.

"Merlin's Beard! It worked!" Ginny exclaimed. Ron and Hermione were gob-smacked. Harry chuckled and reached for the door handle. Hermione screeched out a loud no and he snatched his hand back as if it were burned.

"What? What's the matter?" he asked quickly.

"Harry, what if the fire is still going? If you open it, it'll escape!" Hermione was getting frantic.

"Okay, well what do you suggest we do? Never let it open again? How are we supposed to do that? We can't guard the door all day everyday. What should we do, put a sign on the door that says, 'Don't Open! You could let a FiendFyre escape.'? I don't think anyone would listen to that," Ron said in a snarky tone of voice.

"I'm not suggesting that Ronald, I'm just saying we should be prepared for if it is still in there. We should go the library and look up the counter curse, just in case," Hermione replied. Ron groaned.

"I've had enough of research to last me a lifetime. We should just open the door, the fire would have burned out by now anyways. And besides, Harry didn't ask for the room with all the junk in it, he asked for a library," Ron finished sarcastically.

"Ronald, just because he didn't ask for the room the fire was in doesn't mean it won't show up in the library. The fire was in one room, just because the room changes doesn't mean the room isn't the same room. I'm going to the library to find the counter curse. Don't open that door until I get back and I mean it." She turned and stalked off. The three of them stood there for a minute until Ron groaned.

"She's going to be really angry if I don't go help her find the spell, won't she?" he grumbled. Harry and Ginny both nodded. Ron groaned again and walked away. When he was out of hearing distance Harry laughed. Ginny giggled.

"He is wrapped around her pinkly finger," Harry said. Ginny looked at him.

"What is that supposed to mean, Mr. Potter? Are you implying that that's a bad thing? Because if you are you have another think coming." Ginny was yelling at Harry, and he cowered under he glare.

"I'm, no, I didn't say it was a bad thing. I mean look at them, they love each other, and he enjoys being wrapped around her finger," Harry stuttered, until he saw the evil grin on his girlfriend's face.

"Oh, that is so not cool," he said. She giggled and replied with, "Oh, you are so wrapped around my little finger." He reached over a grabbed her around the waist and tackled her to the ground. They began a tickle fight, which Harry let Ginny win. They laid there on the ground panting, and Harry reached over and kissed her on the nose and said, "I may be wrapped around your finger but I wouldn't have it any other way." She smiled and kissed him on the lips and a snog fest began and lasted a while.

"Ergh, why do you have to do that where I could see you? Gross, like I need to see my little sister snogging my best mate, gross." Ron walked around the corner then quickly backtracked and spoke to them from around the corner.

"Well, mate, how do you think I feel every time I see you and Hermione snogging. She's like a sister to me," Harry replied from the floor. He and Ginny hadn't moved yet and Hermione pushed Ron back around the corner.

"Oh, Harry is that true? I'm touched, I feel the same way about you. I've always wanted a brother," Hermione sniffled.

"Well," Harry started as he pushed himself off the floor, "You've always treated me like a younger brother, making me do my homework and providing an ear to let me vent. Of course I see you as a sister." Hermione hugged Harry hard enough to rival Mrs. Weasley.

"Tell you what Ron, you try to stop kissing Hermione around me and I'll try to stop kissing Ginny around you, deal?" Harry laughed as he stuck his hand out for Ron to shake. Ron hesitated.

"Er, well, I'm not sure how well that'll go. I mean, Hermione's pretty irresistible to me." Ron's ears turned red, and Hermione's blushed.

"Okay, ew Ronald. I didn't need to know that." Ginny laughed. "Well, if you can't resist Hermione, what makes you think Harry can resist me?"

"Oh, jeez, Ginny. You're putting images into my head." Ron closed his eyes and shook his head wildly with a grimace on his face.

"Okay, you two. Let's save this discussion for another time, we came here today to do something important. Did you guys learn the counter curse?" Harry asked.

"Well, we couldn't find it in the library, so we did the next best thing: we asked Dumbledore's portrait. He told us the incantation and the wand movement." Hermione repeated the spell to the others and they practiced.

"Okay, well, here it goes. If it gets out of control, and we can't control it, we're agreed, we run screaming and yelling down the hallway until we find someone to help, right?" Harry asked and everyone nodded. As Harry reached for the handle, Ron spoke.

"I still can't believe that Crabbe, of all people, was able to conjure this spell," Ron said, shaking his head.

"I wonder if his body is still in there," Hermione whispered. Ginny's eyes widened. Harry grimaced. Ron whispered back, "Don't worry. It was probably burned to ashes in that fire."

"Oh, Ron that's a horrible thing to say!" Hermione said weakly. Ginny giggled faintly and said, "Hey, do we want to stand out here forever, or do we want to fight some cursed fire? Harry, open the door. We're ready."

Harry reached forward and slowly took hold of the handle, his hand rested that way for a moment before he slowly began to turn the knob. He stopped took a deep breath and pulled open the door very fast, and they all shouted the counter curse. When the light from their spells dimmed, they saw that there was no fire in the room.

"Wow, talk about anti-climatic," Ginny said. Harry looked at her and started to laugh. Ginny, Ron, and Hermione joined him. They all walked into the room and sat down on the comfy couches Harry had requested over an hour before. They sat and talked for a few hours avoiding the hard-to-talk-about topics, namely death and the past. They talked about their futures and what their dreams and goals were now that they were free of the war. Shortly before dinner time they decided to go to the common room and travel down to dinner with the rest of the Weasleys.

As they stepped out of the Room, they were still talking and it was Harry that saw George first. Harry stopped the others and they looked up and saw George also. Hermione and Ginny both gasped and went to start walking forward but Harry stopped them.

"Go get help, now. Ron and I will slow him down. But we need someone to get help. Go!" The two girls knew that the time to argue was not now, so they ran off in the other direction. Harry and Ron inched closer to their friend and brother, who happened to be standing on the open ledge by the gaping hole in the wall ready to jump.

"George, mate, why don't you get down from there, and talk to us. We can help you get through this," Harry started slowly, and quietly enough to avoid startling him.

"It won't help, nothing will help. There's no point. What am I supposed to do without him. I feel…like I was ripped in two…and the other half of me died. How can a heart survive when it's broken?" George whispered. As quiet as he was, the two boys slowly inching their way closer heard every word.

"George, you're my big brother. Even though I have a few of them, you and Fred were the one's I looked up to the most. Not Percy, not Bill, not Charlie, but you two. You both lived life to the fullest, you didn't let the little things get you down, hell, you didn't let the big things get you down either! We all miss Fred, but I can't even begin to understand what you must be going through. But if you let us, we can help you through this. That's what family is for. Being there together for each other through the good and the bad times." Ron was crying openly, and was slowly trying to make it to his brother. Harry was on the other side trying to make it to George also with his wand out and pointed down but ready.

"Stop! Don't come any closer, seriously. I can't stay in this world anymore, Ron. We were twins, we did everything together. We were hardly ever alone for more than a few hours. Now I…I just can't imagine my whole life ahead of me without him there. He was always the one to come up with ideas, I was always the man to make his ideas work. With out him to make up ideas, what am I supposed to do?" George was crying fairly hard now. Ron was crying, but now he was getting angry.

"If you jump what am I supposed to think about my role models, when one of them killed themselves. At least Fred died heroically. You're taking the easy way out, and that is not heroic!" Ron was shouting at his brother. Harry gaped at him.

"Ron, shut up! We're trying to get him down, not push him over ourselves," he angrily muttered to Ron.

"No, Harry, he's right. I am a coward, but I can't see a future for me. Ron, Harry, go away, I don't want you to see this. Keep Ginny away and Mum and Dad, too. I know you sent them to get help, I just don't want them to see me give up.

"Harry, Fred and I weren't going to tell you this until after the war was over, but I kind of forgot after everything happened. We made you a partner in our business. Since neither of us will be alive, it will all go to you. We'd both appreciate it if you kept it going in our memories. Take care of Ginny; I couldn't have hoped for a better guy for my little sister, and I know Fred would agree with me.

"Ron, take care of Hermione. Be a good husband, let her win the fights or you know you'll regret it. You don't want to see the business end of her wand. Help Harry with the shop. He's not quite a fully fledged Weasley yet, and he'll need your expertise at inventing things." As George was saying his goodbyes to the boys, Harry mouthed Accio to Ron who nodded. They raised their wands together just as a crowd of Weasleys came running around the corner.

Everyone arrived just in time to hear George whisper, "Goodbye," as he moved forward.

"NO!" shouted six new arrivals. The family surged forward as if to grab him before he fell.

"ACCIO GEORGE!" shouted Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny at the same time. George, who had just began to fall, felt his body swing upwards and fly back into the arms of his family. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were the first to grab George and both were crying hard into his shoulders, asking him why. Bill, Fleur, Charlie, and Percy all surrounded their parents and brother making a family hug. Everyone present was crying and thanking whatever God they could think of, and asking George why he didn't think he could live and what would make him think that they couldn't help him.

Harry and the other three all stood to the side hugging each other and crying onto each others shoulders. Harry was holding Ginny, letting her cry on him for the second time that day when he looked up and gasped.

"Fred?" Harry whispered. Ginny looked up and screamed.

"FRED!"

Everyone looked up and over and saw the pearly white-silver of Fred Weasley standing before them. They were all shocked and gob-smacked.

"Fred? No. Oh, no," George moaned. Fred looked around at everyone with a huge smile pasted on him face.

"I know what you're all thinking and no, I'm not a ghost. I'm a spirit. I've been allowed to come and say goodbye to my twin. I'm just lucky that you're all here at the same time. I can say goodbye to everyone." Fred's spirit walked over to the group and they parted so that he could reach his twin. George was openly sobbing and couldn't take his eyes off the one person he missed the most.

"I'm not supposed to tell you this brother dear, but when have I ever followed the rules? You, my dear twin, will marry a beautiful witch that I whole-heartedly approve of. You will grow old with her, and die old and wrinkly in your bed while you sleep. It's not your time now." He turned and spoke to everyone.

"I knew someone in this family wasn't going to make it through this war, and in hindsight, I'm glad it was me. Don't get me wrong, I'm not glad I'm dead, just glad that you're all alive. Now I get to watch you all grow old and wrinkly while I stay young and handsome forever!" He said while he ran his fingers through his hair. Everyone laughed through their tears. Even in death Fred was the same old Fred.

"Besides, I have my heroes to hang out with and learn from. The Marauders are here, and, I might add, Dumbledore sure knows how to play a prank or two!" Fred turned to George. "I'm in the middle of a prank war with James, Remus, Sirius, Lily, and Dumbledore, and I think I may be in for more than I bargained for on this one." Fred laughed and George joined him, laughing through his tears. Fred smiled at his brother, before turning around and walking over to his mother.

"Mum, I know I never really said this when I was alive, but I love you, and couldn't have appreciated you any more. You were a lot of fun to pull pranks on because we knew you would take our stuff away so we knew that you would be a challenge to prank. I love you so much, you were the best mum a guy could have asked for." She was crying extremely hard now, and she whispered back.

"I love you too, Freddie. Say hello to Fabian and Gideon for me. Don't cause too much trouble. I'll…I'll miss you so much." With that she put her head down on her husband's shoulder and sobbed. Fred smiled at her sadly and looked up at his dad.

"Dad, I may have teased you about your Muggle fascination, but I never loved you more than when you were fiddling with your plug collection or asking people about the function of rubber ducks." Arthur chuckled sadly. "You were an awesome dad. Keep Mum together; she'll need you a lot in the next few months. I love you and I'll miss you too," said Fred as he winked at his dad.

"I love you too, son. You make me very proud. You grew up to be a very well-adjusted man, yet still a trouble maker. I'll never forget that about you. Goodbye, son." Arthur smiled back and put his head next to Molly's to comfort her.

"Bill, William, Billy. You were the bother that I looked up to the most. I may have teased you a hell of a lot when you became Prefect and then Head Boy, but I was never more proud of you then the day you got you Head Boy badge. Take good care of your hot wife, have lots of babies, and live your life from one adventure to the next. I love you and can't wait to watch you try to have kids." Fred was laughing, and Bill was laughing hard.

"Only you little brother, can make everyone laugh when all they want to do is cry forever. I'm gonna miss that. You take care of yourself. I'm going to miss your laugh, and having to eat carefully when you were around. Well, I might not miss that, but I'll miss you for sure. I know that when I'm changing diapers and feeding a bunch of kids you'll be up there watching and laughing you're arse off. I love you." Bill smiled at Fred, who turned to Fleur.

"Fleur, I'm sorry, but it would never have worked out between us." She laughed as did Bill. "I'm just glad Bill has you to lean on. He'll need you, don't be afraid to show him who wears the pants in the family." She laughed and he leaned in and whispered something in her ear. She gasped and looked at him shocked.

"Really? How do you know that?" she asked him.

"I was told I could tell you. Wait until I'm gone before you tell everyone. 'Kay?" she nodded at him, and he told her he loved her.

"Charlie, my man, you are the brother I looked up to and wished I had your skill and bravery. I know you'll have the easiest time with my death, mostly because that's your style. And because you can't be thinking of me while you wrestle dragons. Could be fatal, man. Watch over Percy, he needs someone to help him recover. I love you, be careful and find a woman already, you're driving mum crazy." Charlie and Molly both chuckled. Charlie told Fred he loved him and Fred moved on to the next brother.

"Percy. Percy, Percy, Percy. You estranged yourself from the family and you wait until right before I die to un-estrange yourself. But what's even better, I got to hear you make a joke. You are the reason I died with a smile on my face. Don't ever sell yourself short, remember that you are a Weasley no matter what. They'll all forgive you for your mistakes because that's what families do. They forgive. Especially this one, they're extremely forgiving. Don't blame yourself for my death, I know you are right now, and I can tell you now, stop. It wasn't your fault, it was my time to go. I love you and I always have, even when you were being a git." Percy was crying pretty hard and had to be held up by Charlie.

"I'm sorry Fred, I'm so sorry. I made a stupid joke and I distracted you, and if I had just shut up, maybe you wouldn't have…" Percy broke down and couldn't speak for crying so hard. Percy and Charlie were both on the ground so Fred crouched to speak eye to eye.

"Percy, look at me. I don't blame you, you are blameless. But I understand what you need to hear right now and I'll give it to you. I love you and I forgive you." Fred was crying now, and he stood up and walked over to Ron and Hermione.

"Ron, Hermione. I knew that day I saw Hermione tell you that you had dirt on your nose that you two would end up together. It was like an epiphany to me. Besides the facts that you two are perfect for each other, and I must say, it's about time! It only took you seven years. Hermione, in my minds eye, you are now a Weasley. I love you both." They whispered 'I love you', to Fred as he turned and walked away.

"Ginny-bean, I love you so much. You're my favorite little sister. Harry, she's a hellion and you are stuck with her, good luck. Ha, ha, just kidding, but seriously, Gin, you have to go on. Give Harry lots of babies, and grow old with him. Watch over George. He needs someone to be there for him and I know you and Ron will be a lot of help. I love you and wish you and Harry the best of luck."

"Thanks Fred, I love you so much and I'm going to miss you so much." She turned and hugged Harry because she couldn't hug Fred.

"Harry, I've met your parents and I know you'd love them. They told me to tell you that they love you and they're so proud of you. I know that's not much coming from me, but they can't come; they've been gone too long. They can hear you talk to them, so if you ever need them, you know what to do. Sirius says, "Great choice in women," and that you made him proud. Remus and Tonks say that they know you'll be a great godfather to Teddy, and that they're sorry to have left you with the responsibility at such a young age. They all love you, and send their approval of my sister. Which, by the way, is a very weird message to give you!" The three of them laughed. "And finally, Dumbledore told me to tell you that he was happy seeing you at Kings' Cross, whatever that means." Harry gaped at him with wide eyes. He hadn't told anyone about that trip. All he had mentioned was that he had been hit by the killing curse and it didn't work on his soul, just Voldemort's. Everyone was looking at him curiously. "Goodbye Harry. I'm going to miss you. Take care of my sister and George."

Fred looked over to George who seemed to know that his turn was next. Fred walked up to his sobbing twin who was kneeling on the ground surrounded by family. Fred kneeled down next to George. He waited until George looked up at him. Fred was crying again now, too.

"You will always be my twin, George. Never forget that. All you have to do is think about me and I'll hear whatever you have to say. I may not be able to talk back, but hey, we practically shared a brain, you'll know what I'd say anyways." They both shared a teary laugh.

"I love you…Gred," George said though his tears. Fred chuckled and they all saw the pearly tears coming down increase.

"I love you too, Forge. I'll be waiting for you, goodbye."

They all watched as Fred's spirit faded away leaving George alone, kneeling on the ground and sobbing. Everyone sat and cried with him until he was finished. Everyone heard him whisper, "Goodbye Fred."

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A/N: I'm crying right now. But I needed closure. Fred was my fave character. Read and Review please! I can't get better without knowing where I suck! Is it believable? Can you see it happening? Let me know!


	7. Celebration Of Life WWW Style

Disclaimer: Nope still not mine. *tear* One can still hope though.

* * *

'**be' **_**Celebration of Life Weasley Wizard Wheezes Style**_

Dinner in the Great hall was forgotten as all the Weasley's, Harry, and Hermione left and went to the common room. Harry called Kreacher for some food, but hardly anyone ate anything. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley sat on the couch, comforting each other after seeing their dead son's spirit. Bill, Fleur, Percy, and Charlie sat at a table munching on some sandwiches and talking about Fred in quiet tones. Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione all sat on a couch in silence. Ron had his eyes closed while Hermione ran her fingers through his hair soothingly. Harry and Ginny sat cuddling each other and both staring off into the distance.

George was standing on the other side of the room, staring out the window. For half an hour, no one said anything and the only sounds were that of the occasional sniffle from Mrs. Weasley or the munching of food from the table. Finally, George stepped forward and cleared his throat.

"I need to leave for a few hours. I need to get a few things ready. I should be back for the memorial tomorrow," he finished and turned to the door. Everyone shouted for him to stop, and he did.

"George, we can't just let you leave on your own right now. Today was an extremely difficult day for you. For all of us," Mr. Weasley said softly.

"Dad, I have to do this. It'll help me come to terms with…with it," George said quietly still not meeting anyone's gaze.

"Well, at least bring someone with you, please. It'll keep our minds from worrying too much. Please?" Mr. Weasley asked of his son. George looked around the room.

"Percy and Charlie. Will that be alright?" He looked to his brothers and they nodded. "We'll be back by about half past nine tomorrow. Come on." The three left the room together, leaving everyone else wondering what the broken twin was planning. Fleur yawned which started the yawning chain around the room.

"Bed-time everyone. We all have a big day tomorrow, and we'll be going back to the Burrow in the afternoon." Mrs. Weasley ushered everyone off to their beds, yawning all the way.

* * *

"Um, George? What are we going to be doing?" Percy asked quietly as the threesome walked to the gates. Charlie watched George's dark form ahead of him.

"We're getting some supplies for tomorrow's memorial. After we got back to the common room tonight, I took some time to think. I think tomorrow is going to be sappy and tearful. Fred wouldn't want that. So we're going to the shop and getting some supplies. Tomorrow isn't going to be a sad, soppy memorial to weep over the death and destruction, it's going to be a celebration of life, and the heroics of those who died. So, lots of fireworks, laughter, and pranks. No weeping or sappy sob stories. No one who died would have wanted that," George said while walking away from them. He was still not making eye contact with anyone, which worried them. They reached the gates and George said at them from over his shoulder, "Go to the shop," and disappeared on the spot. They looked at each other.

"I sure hope this means we'll have the same old George back soon," Charlie said.

"I don't think we'll ever have the same old George back, but hopefully, we'll have one that's nearly the same," Percy said quietly. Older brother looked at younger brother, and younger looked at the spot a short ways away that George disappeared from.

"You've changed a lot, Perce. I hope it's for the better." Charlie disappeared then. Percy looked up at the stars.

"I hope so, too," Then, he also disappeared.

~*~

Percy arrived to see the shop for the first time. Bright colors and sounds assaulted him from every direction. A weird, rotting smell was coming from a shelf near the side of the store. George was standing by the counter making a list with Charlie standing off to the side examining a shelf with utter revulsion etched into his features.

"I haven't been back here since about New Years'," George said without looking up from his parchment. "That's when they started suspecting us for Potterwatch and we had to go into hiding. It's obvious that someone has gone through the back room, and by the smell of this place some product has gone bad. I have a lot of work to do to get this place ready for re-opening. I'll probably be up all night cleaning and restocking. If you guys want to sleep, you can go upstairs to the apartment. I haven't been up there yet, but it was probably searched also." George looked at a book with numbers in it, checked a date and wrote next to it 04/May/97. Percy and Charlie looked at each other and nodded.

"It's okay, George; we're not tired. We can help you. Tell us what to do," Percy replied. George finally looked up at them.

"Are you guys sure? I'll probably be up all night." Percy and Charlie saw a glint in their younger brother's eyes they didn't recognize.

"Nope, we don't mind. We had too much sleep at the castle anyways, so we need something to do." Relief flooded George's eyes and it was then that they realized he didn't want to be left alone. This realization strengthened their resolve to stay with George all night if they had to. George promptly put them to work taking all the outdated product off the shelves and throwing them in the bin in the back alley while he checked the books and wrote in all the new products they shelved, everything they threw out, and made lists of all the stuff they needed to make fresh. They worked quietly for a couple hours before Charlie, sweating, asked for some music at least. George shrugged and said that the radio was upstairs and he'd be right back. Percy and Charlie kept working for ten minutes.

"Er, you think he's been gone long enough? We should go find him," Percy said to Charlie. The two went upstairs to find chaos: books had been ripped apart and thrown around the room, chairs had been slashed, and stuffing spewed onto the floor, mirrors and picture frames and plates and cups and anything else that was glass or breakable were shattered and cracked. Pictures had been ripped from albums and frames and torn in half. In the middle of the room George sat hunched over, cradling something in his arms, rocking back and forth, and staring at the destruction with his mouth agape and a blank look of horror on his face.

"George!" Percy and Charlie bolted for him and fell to their knees ignoring the glass that pierced them. The hugged George and told him it was okay, everything was fixable, they'd help him fix it all.

"Percy, we need to get him out of here. At least the destruction down there wasn't as personal. Come on help me lift him." They hoisted George by the armpits and wrapped him arms around their shoulders, never noticing the item that George had released on the ground in front of him. They marched down the stairs and walked George over to a sofa that was placed behind the counter for slow days.

"Percy, you stay with him, I'm going to take a look around upstairs, okay? I'll tidy it up a bit, and fix the things that are broken. I'll yell if I need you." In an undertone that he hoped George couldn't hear he added, "Try and get him to talk. About anything. He needs to talk." Charlie went upstairs and Percy say down next to his younger brother.

"So, er…George, I can't say I know how you feel because I don't, but I can't help you if you don't talk to me. What are you feeling? What are you fears? Are you feeling angry? Sad? Vengeful? In shock?" Percy went quiet to wait for an answer. He waited a long time.

"Numb," George whispered.

"Numb? What do you mean?" Percy asked, though he thought he knew the answer. He needed George to talk.

"I just…don't know how to feel. Before I was…overwhelmed by the grief and…scared about being alone for the rest of my life. But then I got to talk to his…to him. I got to say goodbye, and that I…that I loved him. Now, I don't know. He told me it wasn't my time. I just…don't know what to do anymore," George said, still staring blankly ahead. Percy blinked back tears; George didn't need that right now. He needed someone stronger than he was feeling, and since Percy was the only one around him at the moment, it was left to him. He sent a short Patronus message to Charlie telling him to get a bedroom cleaned first.

Percy thought long and hard about what he could say to his brother. He has always thought Fred and George to be nuisances, pesky little brothers brought into this world to annoy him. He truly did not know how to console his brother, mainly because the twins had never seemed to need anyone else but the other, so Percy had never felt the importance of getting closer to them. They had each other and he had…himself. He came to this realization that he had no friends among his siblings. Yes, they all loved each other, to a point, but to be _friends_ with his brothers and sister were a complete anomaly to him. As he realized this, a part of him ached with longing to be as close to his siblings as the twins once had been, to always have a friend nearby, and he vowed to use this tragedy to his advantage and learn more about George and be there for him whenever he needed him no matter what. He looked down at his brother and the words started flowing.

"I can't tell you what to do, George, but I can give you ideas and my opinions." George looked up at him, blank eyes gleaming. "The first thing I think you should do is get some sleep. In the morning, you'll have a fresh start to a new day. It'll be a long day tomorrow, especially if we are going to turn it into a celebration. You'll need your wits about you. Two, after tomorrow, you'll live day by day until you've gotten past the grieving stage. It'll take a long time; you two were closer than anyone, but I assure you, you will get past this so that one day, you'll only remember the good times, which were plentiful. You'll be able to tell your kids about their Uncle Fred and how you two got into so much trouble. The swamp you placed in the school, the inventions you made, flying a car to Surry to get their Uncle Harry from his awful relatives...all of it. Your kids will know their Uncle Fred better than half of us who were his siblings. Then your kids will act like the two of you did in school and you will be the parent who acts disappointed in front of them, but secretly couldn't be prouder. You will live life for both you and Fred. See sights with your wife and kids, make new inventions to make a teacher's life hell, and…and Fred will be watching you, and laughing his arse off. He will always know what you are doing, and he will always laugh at your mistakes. And if your kids become Prefects or Head Boy or Girl, you know he'd be the first to act disappointed, but still be proud. I'm not going to tell you what he would have wanted, because you should already know that. Hell, he told you himself you two practically shared a brain. Now, lets get you upstairs and in bed. Charlie and I will work a little longer on getting everything cleaned up then we'll sleep too. Okay?" Percy stood up and George followed.

"Perce?" George started, Percy stopped and looked at him. "Who are you and what did you do with the real Percy?" Percy smiled.

"I'm right here, George. This is me. I just came to a realization, and figured out that I should have paid closer attention to you guys when we were kids. Maybe got in on some of your pranks instead of telling on you to mum. I was an adult before I was a kid, and I regret that now. I regret not being closer to you guys, Ron and Ginny too, when we were younger. I truly was a giant prat as a kid." George smiled a sad smile and nodded.

"Yeah you were. But being closer to us doesn't mean we would have let you prank with us. We didn't even let Ron and Ginny in on those." Percy smiled, glad to see George able to speak about Fred still. They turned to head upstairs again when George once again stopped him. Percy looked at George who had a faint smile on his lips.

"Thanks. I needed to hear that." Percy clapped George on the back as they walked back upstairs. The first thing that they noticed when they got up to the flat was that it looked much better with everything fixed and cleaned up. They walked down the hall calling out for Charlie. Charlie came out of the bathroom holding some dirty towels and looking less sweaty.

"I got your message to get the bedroom cleaned. It's ready for you George," Charlie and Percy left George to get ready for bed. They went to the living room. They were having a whispered conversation about what Percy told George while Charlie was cleaning, when George came back into the living room. They stopped talking when they noticed him.

"You guys don't have to stop talking just because I'm here. I just came out to get a bottle of water and some Dreamless Sleep Potion." He went to the kitchen and they followed.

"Why do you have Dreamless Sleep Potion?" asked Percy.

"Well, when it was getting close to the time when we had to go into hiding, Fred and I took turns keeping watch at night. We both had a hard time staying awake while the other was sleeping so we invented these little caffeine mint things. We were thinking of calling them InsomniMints. The problem we had though was that at first they gave you such a strong dose of caffeine that you had to counter it with the sleep potion. We tried about a hundred different recipes and nothing worked, the most memorable incident was when Fred took one and said he felt fine and then he had a burst of energy, that was normal, it lasted for about five minutes and he was working and getting things done, all of a sudden he fell off his stool and fell to the floor, in an extremely deep sleep. He slept for nearly twelve hours. He woke up and had another burst of energy and didn't realize that he had fallen asleep. It was pretty funny. We finally realized that the only good dose we could get right was when we also drank a sleep potion to counter the energy burst. We had about a four hour burst of energy, before we needed another mint. We made a recipe that included a Sleep potion in it, and it was perfect. All we had left to do was patent it. Then we had to go into hiding. I'm just glad that Fred remembered to grab all our notes." George took a long swig of water.

"We realized that the mint thing was probably the most dangerous product we've ever invented. Ask me why," he asked before he took another drink of water.

"Er, why?" chuckled Charlie. Percy was grinning, he could still see glimpses of the old George in his brother, and this made him positive that things would return to almost normal.

"Because with the early experiments it would give you so much energy you'd basically exhaust yourself to death," George said simply. The other two gawked at him.

"Yeah, you'd take it and run around all day like a chicken with it's head cut off, get so exhausted you'd literally fall into sleep, but you're body would keep up the work as if it was running a marathon. Your heart and such would literally beat itself to death. Muggles call it a heart attack. None of our other products could do that. Now that we have this perfected all we…" George stopped, realizing that he was speaking as if Fred were still there. "All I have to do is write up a warning for the label," he finished looking defeated. While he had been talking about the product he had the old George look, now he only looked sad and tired.

"I'm going to bed. See you in the morning. Remember, we need to wake up a little earlier since we didn't get anything ready tonight. Goodnight." George left them sitting at the table. The two of them looked at each other and sighed.

"I would love to be able to take some sleep potion but I think we both need to be alert tonight. Agree?" Charlie asked Percy who nodded. "Should we get some of the stuff ready tonight so we can sleep a little longer in the morning?" Percy nodded again. They got to work gathering every type of WWW fireworks they could find. They also gathered as many trick treats and sweets that weren't out of date yet. At about one in the morning they crashed in the living room, only staying awake long enough to set an alarm.

* * *

At Hogwarts the next morning, the remaining Weasleys, as well as Harry and Hermione, sat and ate breakfast wondering how the three at the shop were faring.

"I should go check on them. What if they forgot to set an alarm and they wake up late? What are they going to eat for breakfast? Arthur, I need to go wake them and make them breakfast." Mr. Weasley was having a hard time restraining his wife.

"Molly, dear, all three of them have lived on their own for a few years. You know that Charlie and Percy are responsible enough to take care of an alarm and breakfast. Well, at least we know Percy is. Sit down and enjoy this food, relax, the boys are okay on their own. Save your energy, you know how hard this day is going to be." He turned and ate a few kippers before listening to a conversation Hermione and Harry were having about Hermione's parents.

"Harry, I really need to go find them, soon. I just don't know how I'm going to do it. Australia has different laws and customs than England. It will probably take a few weeks. I'll need to find a new house for them to live in here since I sold our old house, and they'll need a new premises for their dentist office because I sold that too. We'll probably have to fly home the Muggle way because I don't know if a Portkey will work at that distance or with Muggles." Hermione was near panic mode.

"Actually, I can use my connections in the Ministry to get you a Long Distance Portkey to and from Australia if you'd like. And yes, Portkeys do work with Muggles if they are programmed that way," Mr. Weasley said to try and calm her down.

"And I can help you out with the money to get a house and premises."

"Oh, Harry you don't have to do that! And thank you Mr. Weasley, I would really appreciate that," Hermione beamed at him.

"It would be no trouble Hermione. I'd be glad to help." Mr. Weasley went back to talking to his wife.

"Hermione, I can help you with the money. You know I have enough, and I want to help." Harry was eating a sausage with mustard wrapped in a pancake.

"Okay, Harry: one, that's disgusting. Two, I can't accept that money, it was left to you from Sirius and your parents." Hermione turned away as he took a large enough bite to rival Ron. "Okay, you better chew that good, you don't want to choke," she added with a disgusted look.

"Aaah-igh," he said through his gigantic mouth of food.

"Ugh, you do know that you're turning into Ron, right? Don't answer that until you've swallowed," she retorted. He grinned and swallowed the hunk, and it made a visible blob on his neck as it went down. She made a disgusted noise and he laughed.

"I know how much that bugs you, and since Ron is still asleep I thought I'd make sure we didn't break our breakfast tradition of you being disgusted by our manly antics. You know I don't want that money. I'd rather work hard for my money than live off what others gave me. Let me help. Besides, I don't know if I'll be able to come with you. I may need to go find the Dursleys; I have no idea where they were taken. If you want, when you and your parents get back, your family can stay at Grimmauld Place with me until you're able to find a new home. And I insist you let me help you pay for it." Harry's argument was a little lacking but he could see Hermione's resolve slipping. "Please Hermione, it would make me feel better, I feel like it's my fault that you had to send them away. Let me help, please?" Harry gave her the sad puppy eyes and she laughed.

"Alright, Harry, I'll let you help, but I'm going to pay you back. I mean it." She giggled. Ginny showed up and sat next to Harry. She looked as though she could have used another few hours of sleep.

"You mean what?" she asked as she poured herself a strong cup of tea and piled a Weasley-sized plate of food in front of her.

"I offered to help her pay for a new house and business for her parents. She said she's going to pay me back for it. But what she doesn't know is I already have a plan for her re-payment," Harry smiled evilly. Both girls laughed at his face.

"And what would that be, Mr. Potter?" asked Hermione.

"You'll see. It's for me to know and for you to find out when you get back," Harry said in a snotty voice. Ginny laughed.

"You'll tell me right?" she asked with a mock pout.

"Of course I will, just not where she'll hear me," Harry laughed.

"Yay!" Ginny cheered and raised her hands above her head laughing. Her shout had drawn the attention of a few people, who merely turned their heads and smiled. The three all laughed.

"Okay, so I'm not going to find out till when?" Hermione asked.

"You'll see," Harry said vaguely. This was the cue for Ron to show his red head.

"Hullo," he mumbled pouring himself a strong cup of tea.

"Wow, that looks familiar. Where did I see that?" Harry looked thoughtful for a moment then snapped his fingers. "Ah yes, a few moments ago, when Ginny came down and did the same thing. Poured herself some tea and made a huge plate of food. You know, if anyone ever didn't believe you two were siblings, they'd have to be crazy," Harry stated while Hermione laughed. The two Weasley siblings frowned and sent a rude hand gesture to their counterparts, making sure their mother didn't see, which made Harry and Hermione laugh harder.

"How are you two so bloody perky in the morning?" Ron grumbled. The rest of breakfast was eaten quickly as everyone had much to do to get ready. The memorial would last well into the afternoon. Speeches were to be made, and a monument was to be revealed, then a large luncheon for everybody provided by the Hogwarts house elves.

But first, everyone was to spend the morning getting the castle ready. The Weasleys had volunteered their services to help ready the castle for the surge of guests it was getting. So they were spending the beginning of the day decorating the halls and setting up chairs and the stage along with a dozen other people.

George, Percy, and Charlie all showed up at a quarter after nine, but declined the request to help set up. They said it was because they had their own things to set up. Everyone noticed how tired the two older guys looked, yet George looked well rested and had the mischievous glint in his eyes. They wondered why that was but didn't say anything hoping that the glint they saw was there to stay and that the old George was back.

At ten o'clock everyone was seated in their spots and was ready for the Minister to start the show. Kingsley stood up and cleared his throat. All of a sudden fireworks were shooting off into the sky. Some spelled words like Heroes, Remember, and They Will Live On! Another more memorable one was a giant Dark Mark but it was captured in a cage made of lightning bolts. The rest were standard WWW fireworks. Harry saw the caged Dark Mark and laughed out loud. The crowd, after realizing they weren't being attacked, cheered and laughed at the sight before them. For a quarter of an hour they sat and watched the display. While everyone's eyes were skyward, George walked up to Kingsley and asked to speak first. Kingsley knew it was thanks to George for the wonderful display, so he agreed.

When everything had settled down, everyone looked forward to see George standing at the podium. Silence settled around the crowd.

"My name is George Weasley for those of you who don't know me. Five days ago I had a twin named Fred. We owned the shop the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes in Diagon Alley." At this remark many people, mostly school aged, cheered. "Thank you. Fred and I loved to play pranks and invent things. Most of those fireworks we just witnessed were from our shop." To this remark even more people cheered. "The reason I brought them here today was because Fred wouldn't have wanted this memorial to be a weep-athon. No, he would have wanted us to celebrate life." All the Weasleys smiled, it seemed that George was on the way to recovery.

"I know that many of the people who died in the battle five days ago would have wanted this also. So, I asked to speak first today so that I could remind everyone of that fact. And I ask you, today, when you speak of your loved ones and friends who have past on, remember them for their life and celebrate the fact that they died heroes. They wouldn't have wanted us to grieve for them, but to remember them and then move on and live. Not just day to day, but really live. My brother, Percy, sat me down last night and we talked. Well, actually it was more he talked and I listened, but he made some really good points. It'll be hard for a while, there's no doubt about that. It'll be a chore to get out of bed each morning and go about our daily business, but we'll do it because that's was they would have wanted of us. We'll go on, and one day have kids of our own or grandkids that we can tell stories to about our lost loved ones.

"So let's not cry and ask why, let's party and celebrate the lives that are still left to live. Thank you." George stepped down from the podium to a thunderous applause. It seemed that everyone in the crowd stood up and gave him a standing ovation. He smiled, then turned around and ran back to the podium.

"One last thing. I've brought more things than just the fireworks, so during the day we'll have sudden reminders to laugh. Enjoy the day!" George left the podium and sat down next to his mother who flung herself on him crying.

"Oh, Georgie, you were magnificent! I'm so happy that you're getting better," she wailed. He patted her back and discreetly rolled her off his shoulder onto his fathers. When he turned around Percy was hugging him.

"Thank you, George. I wasn't expecting you to use my advice like that," Percy said wiping his eyes.

"Don't worry about it Perce. It was great advice and I thought it should be shared." George patted him on the back. Everyone turned and listened to Kingsley's speech.

Kingsley stood back up and walked back to the podium. "Thank you Mr. Weasley for that inspiring show. I agree with you that the people who gave their lives to the war effort would not have wanted us to mourn them and waste part of our lives living in yesterday. They would have wanted us to move on and remember them with smiles on our faces and laughter in our hearts. So let me start off the day with a story.

"A few years ago I met the Weasley family. I remember sitting down at the table and eating dinner with them after a meeting for the Order of the Phoenix. There were several people at the table, eight of the nine Weasleys were there and several other order members also. As we all bit into our lasagna suddenly everyone's hair had turned the colors of the rainbow and stuck straight up. I will also add that it was very glittery." The crowd started laughing. "Mrs. Weasley was yelling up a storm at her twins and they just sat there smiling probably because her hair still looked like a rainbow. Later that night, as they were washing the dishes for their punishment, I ended up having a talk with them about their products. I learned that they were young inventors that had products that would rival most of Zonko's products. Over the next few months I helped them find a premises and a few workers to help them produce the products they invented. I will tell you now, though, my favorite of theirs is still the one that turned everyone's hair into a rainbow.

"Now back to business. In a month or two there will be an awards ceremony to honor the heroes of this war. During the ceremony everyone who fought will be awarded with a medal of some sort and a small monetary sum also." The crowd applauded and the Minister waited.

"I would like to spend a moment now talking about the bravery of the people who fought in the two wars. It takes a lot of courage and bravery to stand up to a group of tyrants who think they're better than you. I have spent the last fifteen years as an Auror and in the last few years with Voldemort rising back and his followers getting increasingly rowdy I have seen many regular people stand up and do what's right. So many people who defend the innocent until the more qualified trained people arrive. Not everyone who fought this war fought openly and explicitly spent their time dedicated to ending this war. Many people were everyday shop owners who rescued people off the street when it was under attack or even Quidditch or music celebrities who spent a certain amount of their money to the Auror training unit or the Order of the Phoenix. I want to thank everyone who blocked a spell aimed at an innocent or donated money to the effort, or maybe joined the Auror program to help fight. Everyone helped in their own way and I thank you for that.

"I will turn the podium over to Headmistress McGonagall now to talk about the school and the D.A. Thank you." As he stepped down McGonagall stepped up.

"Over the last few terms the school has been in control of the Death Eaters, and therefore, Voldemort. Now that I am Headmistress, I promise that I will do my best to bring this school back to what it was like before Voldemort got his fangs into it. No more Dark Arts classes, we will be going back to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Muggle Studies will no longer be a class to teach why we are better, but how Muggles live without magic. I hope to bring this school back to the way it was run before Albus Dumbledore died." The crowd was cheering once again, led by the students who lived under the Carrows' rules.

"Many of the students, this past year were tormented and ruthlessly punished by the Death Eaters who were running the school. The reason the other teachers and I did not stop them on a daily basis was because the only way we could protect the students in the long run was by being at the school, and if we had prevented most of the less harsher punishments we would have been fired and forced to leave the school. We worked against the Carrows and when we caught a student doing something they shouldn't have we punished them ourselves with lines during class or something similar. We knew that most of the things that were now legal to do in school were absurd.

"There were a few students who revolted against the Carrows and pulled a few pranks, my personal favorite being the Love Potion Hexagon." McGonagall glanced towards Ginny who was laughing quite hard, drawing stares from those around her. McGonagall smiled and continued.

"Two years ago, the school was being controlled by the Ministry, by a certain unnamed witch. A group was formed by a few students in their O.W.L. year to help each other study Defense Against the Dark Arts, which they were not learning under said witch's tutelage. Shortly after all groups, teams, and clubs were banned unless okay-ed by that witch. This group knew that they would never get the okay from her, so they continued secretly. This group was called the D.A., or Dumbledore's Army in secret. They studied hard all year long and near the end of the year were discovered and broken up. Since then, all the members have kept in touch and kept the notification device they used for new meetings. The hour or two before the final battle happened, many of them were notified by their devices that the DA needed them at the school. It was this group that arrived to help the Aurors and the Order of the Phoenix fight the last battle. Of this large group only one died that night: Colin Creevey, aged 16. Colin was reported to have evacuated with the rest of the students, but must have returned to help his friends.

"Today, I will be placing several new plaques in the trophy room. The first will be a Special Services to the School in Colin Creevey's name. Colin's name will be on this plaque for many years. He will be remembered for his bravery and great courage.

"The next plaque will be one with many names on it. It will name each and every D.A. member who fought in the battle. It will also be a Special Services to the School plaque.

"The next two will be for Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. The fought valiantly, and risked their own lives for the safety of their fellow students and the lives of their friends. I thank you two for your courage and selflessness. These two plaques will also be Special Service ones.

"The last two plaques will be awarded to Mr. Harry Potter. The first will be a Special Services to thank Mr. Potter for fighting and nearly losing his life to save everyone else. The second will be an Honorary Plaque that names him as the creator of the newest school club, the Defense Association, or the D.A. for short." She glanced over at Harry and his friends who were all shocked, and smiled. They had been told about the Special Services but not the club plaque. She smiled.

"I decided last night that I would allow this club to be official and last for as many years as there will be students to join. The D.A. was a group of people who were from different Houses who were able to put aside their differences and work together. This club created House unity that this school hasn't seen for many years, and I personally thought that it was worth keeping.

"Finally, I would like to announce that soon the Board of Governors will be getting back to me about whether they think the school should be opening in the fall and their opinions on the ideas I had for those students who missed their last year of school. It will be announced in the paper with in the next month. I would like to introduce now Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger as the next speakers." She stepped down and they all shook her hand as they walked past her. Harry leaned in to talk to her without being heard.

"Thank you for making the D.A. official; it means a lot to me," whispered Harry as he walked past the teacher. She smiled and nodded her reply. Ron and Hermione looked back to see where Harry was. He hurried up to get up front with them. They looked to him to start.

"Um, well, hello everyone. I'm Harry Potter, next to me is Ron Weasley, and this is Hermione Granger. We were asked to say a few words and then reveal the monument," he said as he turned to Hermione. She cleared her throat and stepped forward.

"Harry, Ron and I have spent most of our school age lives fighting the bad guys. We've seen school mates fall, and family members wounded or killed. It's changed our lives forever, but we wouldn't be the people we are today without the history we've had together. I remember the first time we met Colin Creevey. It was in our second year. He carried this camera with him everywhere and he insisted on taking pictures of Harry all the time. One time he even asked him to autograph it for him," she glanced over and saw that Ron was chuckling.

"Harry was mortified. He's never thought of himself as a hero and then here's this tiny little kid about ready to start a fan club. Well, after the years went by, Colin got used to being around Harry and realized that Harry was just one of the guys. But one of my favorite memories of Colin was when Harry yelled at him for trying to take pictures of him after he had all the bones removed from his arm by accident after a Bludger broke his arm, and Professor Lockhart messed up the charm to fix it. Despite Colin taking pictures at most of the worst times in Harry's life, he was always there for the good pictures, too. Most of our favorite photographs are by Colin. He will be missed by everyone who knew him." Hermione wiped away some tears as she stepped back. Harry looked out and saw Ginny smiling through her own tears. Ron stepped forward with a smile.

"In this war and the last one too, I have lost several family members. My mothers brothers, Fabian and Gideon Prewett, and my brother Fred were the closest related. Fred was…unique. Well, I don't know if that word describes just Fred, but he was an interesting person. I never met my uncles but I know that they were Aurors who fought in the first half of this war. I know my mum misses them and she's having a hard time with losing her son, too, but they all died as heroes, and that's what helps me get through the day. They wouldn't have wanted to sit on their backsides doing nothing; they were all they type of people that would have wanted to die fighting. And they did. Fabian and Gideon took several Death Eaters down with them and it took many more to bring them down. Fred died fighting and laughing, just the way he would have wanted. My brother George is right, we need to celebrate life and live life to its fullest. We should mourn our loved ones but remember who they were and celebrate that they lived their lives to the fullest and died as heroes." The crowd cheered and wiped their tears as Harry took his place. He took a deep breath and remembered why he was doing this.

"Like all of you I have lost loved ones in this war. Whether my parents, godfather, or friends, each death was a reason for me to go on. I've been told several times in the past that they sacrificed themselves so that I could live my life. And that is the advice I'm going to give to all of you. Our loved ones fought to the death so that we all could have a better, more peaceful life. Let's not let their sacrifice be in vain.

"We three were given the privilege to pull the curtain covering the monument today and make the request that everyone come up and read the names on it at some point during the day. The monument will be here for years to come so we will not forget the troubles we went through to truly earn our freedom." Harry, Ron, and Hermione all grabbed a corner and pulled. The curtain fell away and revealed a white marble, seven-foot tall obelisk with hundreds of names on them. The two sides had three lines going the entire length top to bottom; one for names, then that person's birth date, and death date. One side covered all the names from the first half of the war and the other side the second half of the war. The columns included both Magical and Muggle names and started with Tom Riddle Sr., Born-?, Died-June 1944. Following Tom Sr. was his parents Thomas and Mary Riddle. Farther along the line was Hepzibah Smith. As Harry read further he saw his parents. Near the end, he saw Fred, Colin, Remus and Tonks' names. He turned back to the crowd as Ron and Hermione walked back to their seats.

"Too many people died because one man was treated badly as a child. That child grew up alone and virtually friendless. That child grew up to be Tom Riddle, or Voldemort as we all knew him. Remember that man because when you forget him, you leave an opening for the next Dark wizard to rise. History has been known to repeat itself but that is only because history is forgotten as the years go by. There will be more Dark wizards in the future, and I hope that none are as bad as Voldemort. But if we all stick together and never forget our past, we will be able to fight them before we end up in the same situation where our Ministry is overcome and Hogwarts falls. Please, never forget what we have fought for. Thank you." Harry walked back to his place to thunderous applause. Ron and Hermione were smiling at him. Kingsley took his place at the podium one more time.

"Thank you Harry for those humbling words of advice. May they ring true for many years to help us avoid more tragedy. To everyone, I say, thank you for being here today. The Hogwarts house elves have prepared a great feast for us to eat," Kingsley waved his wand to the back of the crowd where a very long table materialized full of Hogwarts best food. "I would like to introduce a new, upcoming band named the Animagus Experience. They are Stripes, Vixen, Bambi, and Rocky. They will be playing some of their music for us while we eat and mingle. Please enjoy the music and food. Tell stories of your loved ones and most importantly laugh and smile and enjoy the day. Thank you!" The large group of people all applauded and stood up. Suddenly, more fireworks went off over the lake. For ten minutes people watched the display. Some got plates of food and sat on the edge of the lake some wandered towards the monument to find their loved ones names. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all gathered by the rest of the Weasleys.

"Ron, Harry, Hermione, you guys were great. Ron, I didn't know you were going to mention my brothers; they would have loved that. Thank you," Mrs. Weasley hugged her son extra hard then turned and hugged her honorary children too.

"George, mate, I love that one firework of the caged dark mark! That was brilliant!" Harry walked up to George, who smiled at the praise.

"Really Harry? I was a little worried you'd be angry. I only tweaked them this morning. We stopped at the Burrow for a few minutes to test it before coming here. Seriously, you like them?" George was beaming.

"Yeah, it was really clever." Harry replied. "What else do you have in store?"

"Ah, my good friend and benefactor, that is for me to know and you to find out," George winked and mouthed _later_ to him when no one was looking. Harry chuckled and nodded.

"Okay, then, I'll just have to avoid the food for now," laughed Harry.

The group of older Weasley's moved towards the monument leaving the five younger people alone. Harry, Ginny, George, Ron, and Hermione all sat at a table conjured by Hermione and talked for a short while before Ginny and Ron decided they were hungry and would risk the food for now. Hermione got up and walked with them leaving Harry and George to save the table.

"So, my benefactor, would you like to know what else is in store?" George winked at him, which caused Harry to chuckle and nod.

"Well, there are a few dozen Canary Creams mixed into the Custard Creams. I also brought along some new inventions that haven't been able to be sold in the store yet. I have Penguin Pasties, Chihuahua Chips, and Catnip Cakes. My favorite one is the Ferret Fries dedicated to the ever-vigilant Mad-Eye Moody." Harry was laughing fairly hard now. "Oh, but wait there's more! Another newbie, Hiccup-puffs, little puffs of sugar that cause hiccups to last for hours." Harry was still chuckling when the other three came back to the table.

"Ron, I don't understand why you have a problem with it. I'll just go to Australia and after a few days, maybe a week or two, come back with my parents. It's not a big deal." Hermione was saying as she sat down. Her plate looked fairly clean of suspect food, mainly because she stayed with the healthier looking food. Ron and Ginny's plates however each had a new sweet invention that both Harry and George noticed, which caused both to laugh out loud.

"What's your guys' deal? What's so funny?" Ron asked as he bit into a Catnip Cake, which promptly turned him into a reddish-sand colored feline. The little kitty turned and looked at itself, flipped around jumped into George's lap and hissed loudly trying to scratch the laughing George. Harry was practically falling off his chair he was laughing so hard. While Hermione and Ginny were chuckling and nervously glancing at their food.

"Don't worry Ron, you'll turn back in a few minutes. Girls I'd like to introduce you to…Pumpkin, he's cute, and he's adorable. Pet him; he'll purr, I bet." George laughed and stood up quickly when Pumpkin/Ron scratched him across the arm. Pumpkin/Ron landed on the ground growling up at George. Hermione reached over and picked up her boyfriend the cat and placed him in her lap.

"Don't worry Ron, I'll take care you." She giggled and started scratching his chin. Pumpkin/Ron closed his eyes and began purring, which caused everyone to laugh. "So George, what else have you invented?" Hermione asked as she fed a piece of ham to the cat in her lap.

"Well, future sister-in-law, the answer to your question is an easy one, but I'd prefer to wait to answer it. I will tell you one thing though…" he leaned over and whispered in her ear. She glanced at her plate and said, "Thanks."

"What did you tell her?" Ginny asked warily looking at Hermione's plate and then her own.

"My dear sister, that is called a secret. Usually those are not shared." George winked at Hermione. Harry was sitting back watching this and noticed Ginny pick up a chip, and bring it to her mouth. Harry stifled a chuckle just as she put it in her mouth. She chewed and swallowed and with a quick pop turned into a chihuahua. Harry laughed and reached over to the little bronze colored pooch.

"Well, I think that's a record! Two in five minutes!" George laughed. The little dog growled at her brother and crouched ready to pounce. George noticed and stood back up. "I think I will visit mum and dad for a few minutes." Harry and Hermione laughed as the red-head ran from the tiny dog. Ginny gave up after a few meters and returned to the table. She sat at Harry's feet and whimpered so he would glance down from his conversation with Hermione. He reached down and picked up his girlfriend, who sat in his lap and whined. She glanced up into his eyes.

"Well, if this isn't the definition of puppy eyes, I don't know what is." He laughed. "Sorry, Gin. He told me that there was no way to reverse it, you have to just wait it out. Would you like some ham?" as he reached over and pulled a piece off Hermione's plate. The cat noticed and hissed at Harry's hand. The dog sat up and growled at the cat. Harry and Hermione grinned at each other and both pushed the animals off their laps at each other. The cat streaked off closely followed by the small dog. Harry and Hermione laughed for awhile.

"So, what did George tell you?" Harry asked as he reached over to her plate for another piece of ham.

"He told me that my plate was clean, which I'm guessing you knew already since there are two other plates here without owners and yet you pick off mine?" she said raising one eyebrow.

"Well," said Harry shoving more ham into his mouth, "Oood ee gessink iigh." She rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"I'm going to ignore the immature attitude you are displaying and continue this conversation in the hopes that you grow up. Do you think you could talk to Ron, he's insisting that I shouldn't go to get my parents without a guard," she asked him. He shoved more of her food into his mouth, chewed for a moment and replied.

"Oal allck oo im uh I ink at ee ants oo oh eif oo." Harry said spraying her with bits of food.

"Ugh, that is so gross Harry, at least Ron doesn't spray me! Now swallow and repeat what you just mumbled to me," she yelled at him as she wiped food off her face.

"I said, oal allck oo im uh I ink at ee ants oo oh eif oo," Harry said smugly. She looked at him and opened her mouth to retort but he beat her to it. "You told me to repeat myself," he chuckled.

"I meant repeat what you just said so that a human could understand you."

"Oh! Well why didn't you say so. I said, I'll talk to him but I think he wants to go with you. That better, Ms. Human?" Harry joked. Hermione huffed and crossed her arms.

"Do you really think he wants to come with me?" she asked him quietly, still staring somewhere else. Harry looked to where she was staring and noticed a small cat hiding under Mrs. Weasley's chair with a small red puppy sneaking up behind it quietly. The sight brought a wide grin to his face.

"Yes, he loves you and wants to be with you. The idea that you might be leaving by yourself to a foreign country looking for two people who can't remember you right after a war, well, it scares him. He's worried that you might be hurt and he won't know it's until too late. At least that's how I'd feel if it were Ginny. Hell, I don't want you going alone either," Harry said watching the puppy sneak up to the cat.

Suddenly the cat, still under the chair, turned back into Ron. Harry and Hermione heard the scream Mrs. Weasley let out from across the grounds and burst out laughing. The rest of the Weasleys surrounding Ron and his mother were having a hard time breathing they were laughing so hard. They watched as Ron took off running towards them. They noticed a small red blur running towards them in front of Ron. As they neared the dog jumped and landed in Harry's lap.

"Harry, give me the mutt. I'm going to throw it in the lake." Ron was red-faced and fuming. The dog looked up at Harry and whimpered.

"Sorry Ron, if I do that, she'll never forgive me. I prefer to leave my boogies in my nose, thank you," Harry laughed. Suddenly, he had a full-grown red-headed girl in his lap.

"Good answer Harry. Thanks for protecting me," she said as she reached up and pulled him into an intense kiss. Ron scoffed but sat down next to Hermione.

The group of teens sat and listened to the new band play for awhile before George came back over and sat back down with them.

"These guys are good," he said. They nodded but kept listening. After the song ended the lead singer, Bambi, announced that the band was taking a break.

Harry and company sat around talking for a while and laughing occasionally. They were interrupted when four young people walked up to their table.

"Hello! I'm Sarah, Sarah Thompson," said the tall, tanned, blonde, "And these guys are Liam Davidson, Isabella Hernandez, and Blake Sheraton. We saw you guys sitting here listening to our music and thought we'd introduce ourselves." As she introduced her band mates she pointed to each in turn.

"Well," Harry looked around at his friends and they all nodded to him. "I'm Harry, this is my girlfriend Ginny, her brother Ron, his girlfriend Hermione, and their brother George. It's nice to meet you, we really like your music." The group of five then turned into a group of nine, when Liam conjured up four more chairs and expanded their table to fit everyone, as it was already a tight squeeze. The group sat and talked for a short time while the band had their break. Harry sat next to Ginny on his left, and Isabella to his right. Next to her were George, then Liam and Sarah. After them were Hermione, then Ron then Blake. Everyone was having a fun time learning about their new friends.

"So, Isabella, I've noticed you each have different accents. How did you all meet each other?" Harry asked the new girl.

"Well, Blake and I have known each other for years. I lived in northern Spain all my young life. Blake's family has a vacation home near my childhood home. He would come spend the summer and we would have a great time wreaking havoc around Estaca de Bares and Porto do Barqueiro. As we got older, we got bored with running around the small towns on the Bares so we made a promise that when we were old enough, we'd move to London together. Well, as soon as we could we bought a flat in London and goofed around here. We noticed two other people from our flat in Diagon Alley one day and had coffee with the both of them. Not long after, we had a band. We also moved into a larger flat in Diagon Alley so we could all live together. One day, Liam whipped out a guitar and we…well, made a band. I play drums, Liam is Lead guitar, Blake is the bassist, and Sarah is the singer." Isabella went on for a while talking about gigs they've had and places they had played.

Meanwhile, across the table Blake, Ron and Hermione were having a conversation.

"So, Blake, where are you from?" Hermione asked. She poked Ron in the side since she noticed him looking oddly at Blake's hair.

"Er, well, I guess I'm from London. I mean, really I grew up all over the place. But I was born in London," he responded glancing at Ron who was gawking at his spiky, black and pink hair.

"Where else did you live?" Hermione asked.

"Well, my family has vacation homes in Spain, Italy, the USA, and Japan. Though I've never been to the one in Japan. The others are quite nice. My favorite is the one in Spain though. That's where I met Isabella," he replied again glancing at Ron.

"Are you and Isabella dating then?" Ron asked.

"What? Oh, Merlin no! She's like my sister," Blake started laughing nervously. Sarah had overheard this conversation and interrupted.

"He's not dating her, god no. No, Blake-y here is gay. He wouldn't touch a woman with a twenty foot broomstick." Sarah laughed as if she had made a joke and then turned back to her conversation with Liam and George. Leaving Ron, Hermione, Harry, Ginny, Blake, and Isabella gaping at her. Isabella jumped up from her seat and tried to lunge across the table at Sarah but was caught by Harry and George.

"Sarah! I can not believe you just did that! That was such a horrible thing to do! You know Blake doesn't like to tell people right away, you can be such a…such a bitch sometimes." Isabella ripped her arms away from the two guys and stormed away towards the stage leaving everyone in a stunned silence.

"Oh dear. Blake I'm so sorry! I completely forgot. You'll forgive me right? You know how my memory gets with a little Firewhiskey. I completely forgot about how you don't tell people that your gay right away. I'm sorry." Sarah was looking at Blake with big, sad eyes and whining. No one believed that she was truly sorry, maybe about causing a scene at a memorial service to war heroes, but not about spilling someone's secret. Blake stood up look Sarah in the eyes and said, "I'm going to find Izzy. We should be getting back on stage soon. It was nice meeting you all, sorry about all this." He walked away from the table leaving everyone in silence again.

"Liam, do you think they're mad at me?" Sarah whispered.

"Yes, I do, come on. Blake was right, we do need to get back on stage. It was nice meeting you guys, sorry about all this. Usually we don't fight, Sarah just made a mistake. Isabella can get very touchy about Blake's feelings getting hurt. She also doesn't like Sarah that much. Maybe we can all get together after this party sometime?" Liam smiled and grabbed Sarah around the waist and they stumbled back to the stage.

"Well, they seem like a fun group of people, right?" George chuckled.

The group spent the rest of the day listening to the music, eating, talking, and laughing. Very few tears were shed this day. Many people turned into birds, dogs, cats, and ferrets. Many more ended up with hiccups for an hour or more. Thanks to George's speech at the beginning of the day, everyone enjoyed the day and thought of their loved ones with smiles on their faces and laughter in their hearts.

As night fell, the group was still sitting at their table. All through the day people joined them and sat with them. Lee Jordan and Angelina Johnson were sitting next to George and the three were talking about all the pranks Fred and George played on Filch, Snape, and Madam Pince throughout the years. Everyone jumped when a loud boom echoed over the lake. People stood up and drew their wands readying for a fight when I giant, sparkling Lightning bolt lit up the sky over the lake beginning a fireworks show that lasted well into a half an hour long. The night was spent watching the bright WWW fireworks cover the sky, lying in the grass with loved ones.

Ginny was laying between Harry and George. As the fireworks ended, Ginny heard her brother whisper into the night, "Goodbye twin."

* * *

Shortly after the show was over, Mrs. Weasley showed up by the group and whisked them away back home to the Burrow. Mr. Weasley had renewed the wards around the property and cleaned up the place the night before. Everyone arrived home and went straight to their beds and went to sleep.

Harry awoke after only a few hours of sleep and decided to go to the kitchen for a glass of water. He stood at the kitchen sink, sipping the cool water and looking at the door. He could see a small amount of the sky outside, and decided it would be nice to look at the stars. He opened the door and sat on the steps next to the pile of Wellington boots. He sat and looked up at the stars and sliver of moon and thought of Remus. _At least he no longer has to be afraid of the moon, _he thought. He sat reminiscing for a while until he heard the snap of a twig. He jumped up and pulled his wand out looking for the source.

"Harry? Is that you?"

* * *

A/N: Oohh, I'm Evil! Cliffhangers are my faves! I thought this chapter was getting obscenely long, so I'm leaving it here! Lol.

**A/N 2:** So I am still alive. Working on getting the early chaps beta'd. I forgot to add this to the first a/n but did anyone notice that Colin Creevey was a Muggle-born wizard and technically shouldn't have been at Hogwarts when it was evacuated? According to the rules of the Corrupt Ministry, any muggle-born who couldn't prove they were in some way related to another witch or wizard had their wands taken and weren't allowed to do anymore magic. I was wondering if anyone else thought that this was a huge mistake? I hope you all enjoy my story! I love reviews! And I reply to all that aren't anonymous. Questions you may have will be answered, either in a PM or in an a/n. Thanks to my beta eclipsed heart!


	8. Funerals and Firewhiskey

**A/N:** there will be some alcohol consumption at the end of the chapter. If you don't want to read it, skip the end of this chapter and go to the next after the girls go to bed. No one is underage though, so it's not too bad. Kinda funny if you ask me! lol

**Disclaimer:** This really gets old sometimes…still don't own it all. Trying my hardest to live up to the queen…I also don't own Metallica's Whiskey in the Jar or the song the Drunken Scotsmen.

**_Funerals and Firewhiskey_**

_Previously: He jumped up and pulled his wand out looking for the source. "Harry? Is that you?"_

"Harry? Is that you?" whispered a voice from the shadows.

"Who's there? Show yourself," Harry said. The shadow person moved out of the shadows and Harry sighed with relief.

"George? What are you doing out here? It's three am," Harry said sitting back down on the steps. George walked over and sat next to him.

"I could be asking you the same thing. But I think I can guess. You're thinking of Remus…aren't you?"

"How'd you know?" Harry whispered.

"You were watching the moon. I put two and two together," George sighed. They sat for awhile and watched the stars in silence. "He loved you a lot you know, Remus. He felt that he was your default godfather since Sirius died," George said to the sky and Harry. Harry looked at George. He had thought long and hard about the same thing for so long, to hear it from someone else was difficult to take in.

"Really? He didn't…hate me for what I said to him?" Harry choked back a sob. George was answering questions he had wanted to ask but didn't know how or who to approach to ask them. He had loved Remus like a surrogate-godfather for a few years now and hearing that Remus left this world feeling the same way made his weary heart feel just a little better.

"Hate you? Merlin, no, quite the opposite really. He was grateful for what you said to him, it made him return to the one he loved. Why would he have made you godfather to his only child if he hated you?" George asked rhetorically. Harry put his head between his knees and took a deep, steadying breath and blinked away some tears.

"He talked about you all the time. He told us, Fred and I, during Potterwatch, that if he didn't make it that we were supposed to give you some stuff. He had this box, it was full of stuff from his past and the marauders past. He wanted to give it to you himself to answer any questions you had, but he gave it to us and told us when to give it to you if he didn't make it." George was leaning against the house staring at the sky. Harry was staring at the ground his head still between his knees his tears spilling to the ground. After a few minutes, Harry was able to control his emotions better and he sat back up and leaned against the house.

"I suppose he told you to give it to me at a certain time too?" Harry chuckled sadly. George nodded his head saying nothing. Several minutes went by in silent reflection between the two.

"After his funeral," George said quietly. Harry nodded.

"I understand. Besides, I don't think I'll be getting much rest in the weeks to come. There's a lot to do still. Hermione needs to go to Australia to find her family, I need to find out where the Dursley's are and if I need to bring them back. Plus, spend time with Teddy and Ginny, and decide if I want to take my NEWTS." George nodded and paused. Then he asked, "Do you love my sister?" Harry was stunned into silence for a moment.

"Yes, I do love her, very much so," Harry responded quietly but with an obviously loving tone. George looked over at Harry.

"Good. Fred and I both felt that you were the best thing for Ginny, even before you two were dating. I could tell from Ginny's letters to us that she loves you very much. When you broke it off with her, she was devastated. She moped around the house for days, teared up at the very mention of your name, and when we didn't allow her to be apart of the plan to get you from the Dursley's she went berserk on us all. Hit Ron with her best Bat-bogey hex I've ever seen. Took a good fifteen minutes to get rid of them all." They both chuckled at this. "I don't want to see her hurting again like that. You both belong together, anyone with eyes can see that. And anyone with at least one ear can hear that." George smirked and Harry rolled his eyes. "Well, you know what I mean. Just don't forget that she has a boatload of older brothers and two over-protective parents that'll like to do you physical harm if you hurt her. Got it?" Harry nodded and smiled.

"You forget that you all would have to dig me up to do any harm to me, because Ginny will have beat you all to it." They both laughed.

"Good point mate. It's a good thing you know that too. But hey, I had to do the older brother thing. It's my duty as an older brother," George chuckled.

"I hear you, but don't let her hear you saying that. Anyways, believe me, Ron had me going for quite a while. It's partly his fault I didn't ask her earlier. I was worried Ron would have pummeled me if I even thought of asking her out. I didn't want to lose my best mate, especially over a girl." Harry got quiet again. They sat for a half an hour as the sky lightened. Close to sunrise George stood up and stretched.

"Come on, I want to show you something." They started to walk away from the house towards the broom shed.

"Have you ever watched the sunrise from a broom? It's breath taking. I can tell this is going to be a great sunrise. One day when Fred and I couldn't sleep we came out and put a silencing spell around the pitch and played midnight Quidditch. We were still in the air when the sun rose so we watched it rise over the horizon." They got onto broomsticks and flew up to the tree line and waited. "When you see it rise and you're in the sky, there's nothing to obstruct the view, and it makes so much better. Watch."

They sat and watched the sun rise and Harry thought it was the most spectacular one he had ever seen.

"Harry, you're going to be ok. Death is a natural occurrence. You've lost many people in your life. You've bounced back each time, admittedly Cedric's death took you awhile but you do bounce back." George was slowly moving back to the shed, so Harry followed. "Does it get easier?" The question startled Harry, who opened his mouth to reply, then shut it. He knew that George was in a precarious situation so he had to answer carefully.

"Does it get easier? In a way it does. As time goes on you remember the good times more than the bad, though the bad memories do creep back every once in a while. But in a way, no, it doesn't. After a while you forget the little things. Like how they laughed or their smile. Their mannerisms and their faults. When you start to forget those things, you feel like you've lost them all over again," Harry said nostalgically, staring off into space.

"How do…how do you _not_ forget those things," George whispered. They had arrived back at the steps moments before and George sat heavily onto the steps and sat with his head in his hands. Neither noticed the face in the window watching and listening to them.

"Write it all down. Every little detail. Do it soon before you forget, so that when you feel like you're forgetting you can go back and read it, see a picture, smell a bottle of cologne. Keep it all close to where you are, so that you can get to it often. It's the best way to remember because, well, sometimes when you feel really low, reading about a favorite memory is the best way to make you smile. It's what I do." Harry sat down next to him. They sat for a short time, until George stood up.

"Thank you Harry. I know I'll be fine eventually, I just need to keep hearing from others that it will get better. Only time will tell how fast the pain goes away. Everyone else can tell me the same things you did, but unless they actually have lost someone they were as close with as me and Fred, it won't make any difference. But when it comes from you, it means something. Probably because you've been though this so many times." George shook Harry's hand and the two went inside.

Upon entering the house, they smelled breakfast cooking and Mrs. Weasley in the kitchen.

"Boys, why don't you two come help set the table. Okay?" she called to them. George looked at Harry smiling.

"Actually mum, I would like to take a shower. Harry can help you though." He smirked and under his breath said, "If you're going to be my brother, expect to be treated like one." Then he turned and walked through the kitchen, kissed his mother on the check, and went upstairs. Mrs. Weasley touched her check and a tear rolled down. She sighed, wiped the tear and turned back to Harry.

"Well, Harry, here are the dishes and silverware." As he reached for them she put a hand on his shoulder. "Harry, what you said to him outside…thank you. I'm so worried about him, they were so close. He needed to hear that." She gave him a motherly bear hug and kissed him on the top of the head. He smiled and nodded to her and picked up the dishes and set to work. Soon he was finished and went up stairs to get dressed for the day. As he walked to the stairs Mrs. Weasley called him back.

"Dear, would you wake up Ron and the others on your way up. Don't bother with Arthur, he's already up. Thank you." He turned and walked back up stairs. He decided to wake Ginny first. He opened her door and walked in over to her bed. She looked like an angel to him lying there with her vibrant hair and pale complexion. He reached down and kissed her on the nose. She opened her eyes and smiled. He crawled into her bed and under her covers with her.

"Morning gorgeous. Your mum's got breakfast waiting. I was sent to wake everyone," Harry mumbled into her hair.

"Good morning to you too. Better wake up Hermione before we maul each other," she giggled.

"Ah, you're no fun," he growled playfully. She reached up and kissed him soundly on the lips, he opened his mouth and deepened the kiss. The snogged for a few minutes before she pulled away.

"What were you saying?" she chuckled. He kissed her nose again and stood back up.

"I believe I was about to say: But I still love you." He smirked and started to walk towards the other bed in the room as she whispered, "I love you too."

"Hermione," he put his hand on her shoulder and shook gently. "Hermione wake up. Breakfast is about ready. Hermione." She rolled over and sighed but slept on. Ginny giggled.

"Here let me. Sharing a room with her for so many summers, I've gotten to notice a pattern." She walked over to the bed. "Hermione! Wake up! Ron's snogging Lavender!" she shouted close to Hermione's head. The bushy bed-headed Hermione sat bolt upright.

"Where is he? I'll show him! Cheat on me with that slut! Where is he?" she growled sleepily. Harry and Ginny both laughed loudly. Hermione looked around and saw that Harry was in the room with them. "That was not nice Ginny! Harry what are you doing in here? Why are you guys waking me up at the crack of dawn? Go away and let me sleep!" Hermione huffed and rolled over to go back to sleep.

"Nuh-uh, Hermione. No going back to sleep, don't make me get the cold water!" Ginny said sternly trying not to laugh.

"No! No water, please, I'm up, I'm up," said Hermione as she rolled over in bed and sat up rubbing her eyes. She stood up and walked towards the door unsteadily and left the room grumbling like Kreacher used to.

"Wow, I never knew Hermione was such a grump in the morning," Harry laughed.

"Well, she's usually awake after she takes a shower. But I've always been entertained by how I wake her up each morning. If it weren't for me, she'd never wake up in time for breakfast," Ginny giggled. "Now, you had better go wake up my brothers. I'll tell you now, Charlie is a beast when he's woken up. George is like Ron, just wave a piece of bacon under his nose and he'll pop right up. Percy, well, if he hasn't changed since he moved out, he'll be the easiest to wake, just poke him and say wake up." She kissed him and wished him good luck with Charlie and pushed him out the door so she could get dressed.

Harry walked down the hallway and decided to do the easiest first, so he opened Percy's door and walked in and over to the bed.

"Percy? Percy. Wake up," he said in a loud hush while poking the sleeping man.

"Not now Penny, I'm still tired. Let's sleep in a little today." Percy rolled over and hugged his pillow. Harry snorted loudly and then tried to muffle his laughter but failed horribly when Percy sat blot upright looking around him. "Where am I? What's going on? Harry? What are you doing here, where's Penny?" Percy mumbled groggily obviously still half asleep.

"Er, your mum told me to wake everyone. Breakfast is almost ready. Er, I'm not sure who Penny is, but she isn't here." Harry left the room chortling moving towards George and Charlie's room.

He knocked first knowing George was awake and waited till he heard a come in. When he walked in he saw George dressed and sitting on his bed with a journal on his lap. He was smiling as he finished his sentence.

"Harry! Did mum send you to get us? Good luck with Dragon man over there. There's a reason he's called Dragon man, 'cuz not only a dragon would be stupid enough to wake that git up," George laughed loudly and Harry noticed it didn't even phase the sleeping man across the room. Harry gulped and moved towards the snoring lump on the bed.

"Er, George, what's the best way to do this? Cold water?" Harry asked. George laughed.

"Mate, if that's your plan, let me leave now. And plan on running for your life as the bucket drops. Fred and I tried that one once. We never tried it again, and on that note I'm going down stairs. Good morning, and good luck," George laughed and walked out of the room.

"That's the second time I've been told that this morning. Well, he didn't say the water doesn't work on him. I guess I'll just risk it and run for my life. Just my luck, I survive Voldemort and die waking up Charlie. Oh well, here goes." Harry conjured a bucket and filled it with ice cold water and levitated it above the bed. He backed up to the door and cancelled the spell, catching the bucket with another spell before it hit the poor man too. As soon as the water hit Charlie he let out a roar and jumped up falling to the floor cussing and shouting. Harry turned and ran from the room as soon as he saw Charlie's hand move towards his wand. He ran up the stairs faster than he had ever moved, hearing laughter behind him down a flight of stairs. Harry got to Ron's room, shut the door behind him and did a complicated locking spell on the door. Ron, hearing the door slam and a spell being mumbled, shot up out of bed and grabbed his wand and shot a stunner at Harry who blocked it and shot one back at the sleepy red-head. Ron blocked the spell, still not able to see clearly through his sleep crusted eyes, thought someone was trying to kill him so he shot more spells at Harry. Harry did his best to block them without sending any back. Seconds later Harry heard footsteps coming up the stairs, and Charlie yelling for him to unlock the door. Harry shot a petrificus spell at Ron and dove under his bed just as Charlie blasted the door open.

"What do you think you were doing pouring ice water on me to wake me up? HUH?" Charlie was yelling at Ron while Harry cowered under the bed. As Charlie ranted Harry had an idea. He stuck his wand up the side of the bed next to the wall and un-petrified Ron and put a silencing spell on him. Charlie seeing Ron moving around and mouthing unintelligible words got angrier and sent a few hexes and curses towards Ron and stormed out.

Harry got out from under the bed, turned and laughed at the sight before him. Ron was trying to hold down his twitching ears, while his legs flailed about. His hair was bright blue and his skin was sunburned and he was silently babbling nonsense. Harry was laughing still when Ginny and Hermione both showed up. They took one look at Ron and burst out laughing. Hermione undid the spells, but not before she picked up Ron's wand off the bed.

"What the bloody hell was that for Harry? I thought he was going to kill me!" Ron said angrily. Harry who was still laughing hard sat on the bed. He calmed down enough to say, "Well, if you hadn't tried to stun me when I came in maybe I wouldn't have froze you."

The girls laughed and told the boys to hurry up breakfast was just about ready and left the room. The boys got ready quickly laughing about the mishap.

* * *

Arriving in the kitchen they saw two owls landing on the counter next to Mrs. Weasley.

"Harry, this one's for you, this one is for the family." She handed over the letter and gave the owls some treats before they flew back out of the window. Harry opened his letter and read it quietly to himself.

_Dear Harry,_

_I know you're probably really busy, but Colin's funeral is today at eleven o'clock. It will be a private memorial for just family and close friends. I'm sure he would have liked for you to be there. He looked up to you a lot. You weren't just a hero to him, you were a friend, and a teacher. The string in the envelope is a portkey to our house. Feel free to enlarge it and bring your friends. Please ask Ginny Weasley if she would come also. I know she and Colin were friends and it would have meant a lot to Colin if she would come also. We live a block away from a cemetery so we'll be walking there from our house. Please come if you can. Thank you. Oh, and if you come wear muggle clothes, please. Our muggle relatives will be here, it would be kind of hard to explain robes to them. Thanks._

_You're friend,_

_Denis Creevey_

Harry found he couldn't breathe easily. He felt as if he were suffocating. Ginny noticed this and tried to calm him down without bringing attention to him.

"Harry, what's wrong? What happened?" He handed the letter to her and she read it quickly.

"Oh, Harry. It'll be alright, I'll go with you if you want. Colin and I were friends so I want to go," she whispered in his ear.

"Gin, the only funeral I have been too was Dumbledore's, and he was older and there were so many people there. This one is private. There's a big difference." Harry was calming down and Ginny opened her mouth to say something back but was interrupted by her mother.

"Oh dear. Harry, I think you should read this." She handed him another letter which he took apprehensively. He read:

_Dear Weasley family household and friends,_

_Today at 1 pm, we will be laying to rest my daughter Nymphadora and her husband Remus Lupin. Please join me and my grandson, Teddy, for the service and a light lunch afterwards. __Dora and Remus talked about you all so much. They loved you all so very much. You were like family to dear Remus. It would mean a lot to me if you would come. Thank you._

_Yours truly,_

_Andromeda Tonks_

_PS. If Harry is there with you, please tell him that if he doesn't come to the service today, I'd still like to speak with him soon, about Teddy. Thank you._

Harry sat and stared at the parchment and took a deep shaky breath before looking up.

"Well, this makes two today," he muttered. He stood up and put the letters on the table and walked outside.

"Ginny, what did he mean by that? Two of what?" Hermione asked her.

"Two funerals. The letter he got was from Denis Creevey, the one mum opened was from Tonks' mum. I'm going out to him, he needs me right now." She stood up and handed the letters to Hermione, grabbed some buttered toast and went outside. She saw Harry standing next to a large Oak tree.

"Hey, I brought you some toast. Thought that you'd still be hungry." She handed him a napkin stacked high with crispy, buttery toast, but he handed it back.

"I'm not that hungry. You have it," he muttered. She looked at him and then at the toast and sighed.

"Harry, if you don't eat this I'm going to have to get mad, and you don't want to see that this early in the morning. So eat, or suffer my wrath." She handed him the food again and this time he took it and bit into one. "Good boy." She smiled at him.

"Harry, today is going to be difficult. I know you hate this but, you have to go. Colin looked up to you so much, and Remus made you the godfather to his only child. Funerals are sad, that's a fact. And a war ended a few days ago, many people died, so there will be many funerals. It's a fact of life. You don't have to go to every funeral, just your friends' ones. I'll be with you at Colin's, and I'm sure if we ask them Ron and Hermione would want to come with too. The whole family will be at Remus and Tonks' funerals also. You wont be alone. Ok?" Ginny held him close and he sighed.

"I know Gin, I just hate that these people didn't make it through the war. That I'll never see them again. There are so many questions I should have asked Remus about my parents and Sirius. Now, there's no one to answer them," he sighed. She hugged him and they stood holding each other for a few minutes.

"We should go inside and get ready. We need to let Ron and Hermione know about Colin's funeral and see if they want to come. Come on." She grabbed his hand and pulled him along.

The two arrived inside and told everyone about Colin's funeral and spent the remainder of the morning getting ready.

* * *

At five minutes to eleven, Harry enlarged the string portkey so all four of them could touch a piece. They each stood holding it while they waited for it to activate.

"Now, you all know that you have to apparate to Andromeda's house by one pm sharp. Ginny you can side along with Harry. Now, make sure you are on time, and thank Mrs. Creevey for inviting you." Mrs. Weasley hustled around the kitchen cleaning up from their morning tea. She was still rambling on when the string turned blue and started to whisk them away, she had just enough time to shout out a good bye.

The four teens landed in a heap together in the middle of a small bedroom.

"OW! Ginny that was my hand!"

"Ron, you're sitting on my skirt."

"Harry, where are you?"

All three looked up, to see the messy haired wizard standing slightly to the left of them, laughing to himself. They looked at each other and back at Harry.

"Well, I got to say, that's a first," Ron mumbled. "How the blazes did you stay standing and we didn't. You're rubbish with portkeys and floo." Ron stood up helped Hermione up while Harry helped Ginny to her feet.

"Well, it would probably help if you hadn't hit a ceiling fan on your way. I guess I was lucky and missed it by about three inches. You guys however, must have lost your balance traveling threw it." Harry chuckled and looked around. The room they were standing in was fairly small, about three meters by two meters. A small twin sized bed in the corner looked new and relatively unused. A small desk next to a slightly empty bookcase was across from the bed. A wardrobe stood near the foot of the bed. What stood out to them were the hundreds of photo's taped to the wall. While most of the room looked very muggle, most, if not all, of the pictures were moving and waving. Looking closer they saw Denis in a lot, Ginny and a few of her classmates in another grouping. Another group of picture were of the Golden Trio themselves, some waving at the camera, some looking disgruntled at being photographed again. Many different groups of pictures were from different times during their schooling, the Tri-wizard tournament, getting ready for the Yule Ball, many different Quidditch matches, and so on.

"Harry! Look, it's you and Lockhart! And Lockhart signed it! Ha!" Ron had to hold himself up using the desk chair for laughing so hard.

"And look here, Harry! This one was after you fell and Lockhart removed your arm bones! Oh that does look horrible." Hermione looked at the picture with disgust. They sat and looked at the pictures for a short while, occasionally pointing out remembered times, before a small knock at the door startled them.

"Er, come in?" Harry called out gripping his wand discreetly. The door opened and in walked a short, mousy brown haired boy who was distracted by something behind him.

"Yes mum, I'll be down in a moment," Denis called out before shutting the door. "Hey guys, glad you could make it. Sorry I had to have the portkey drop you here. You were the last to arrive by portkey and my mum had me entertaining my grandmum downstairs, so it took me a while to get away. That and Luna arrived wearing bright pink and lime green dress robes. I had to avert that disaster. I'm glad you guys are wearing muggle clothes, it make this much easier. I have to bring you downstairs that back way and let you out the back door. You'll need to walk around to the front door and ring the bell. If anyone asks you about Hogwarts, it's not called that, my relatives were only told that we went to a very strict, very low-key private school. We were asked to join shortly after grade school and we accepted. The only way to get in was to be sought after. We let on that it was for certain lost art forms, since Colin like photography so much, and we led everyone to believe that I was following in his footsteps. My grandmum was very skeptical of it and so she's very suspicious about it. If she knows that you were all friends of mine and Colin's from school she will try to get it out of you. My advice, avoid her. She's the old crotchety one that's in the wheelchair." Colin took a deep breath and continued. "The only other two magical people here are Luna and McGonagall, she's the one who made the portkey. They're downstairs right now. You understand everything?" Denis looked at them. They could see dark circles under his eyes, and when he wasn't speaking he slouched as if the perky little kid they had always known was lost. They nodded and he opened the door and peeked out, pulled his head back in and looked at them again.

"My parents know all about you guys. Me and Colin, we talked a lot about school and everything. They know what really happened to Colin, but the rest think he was involved in an accident in the darkroom. Mixing chemicals can get dangerous, so we said that cause of…cause of death was chemical exposure in an isolated darkroom. McGonagall is here to talk at the funeral about Colin's school experience. Well, lets go, I think that's it." He opened the door and peeked out once again checking that the coast was clear. Apparently it was, for he opened the door further and walked out and down a hallway. They followed quietly down a narrow set of stairs that obviously weren't used much and out a back door to the outside.

"Ok, head around to the front and ring the doorbell. See you there." He shut the door and they turned and followed his directions.

"Does anyone find something odd about Denis? That's probably the most I've ever heard him talk, and he didn't even stutter," Harry whispered.

"Yeah, I noticed too. Did you see his eyes? It looked like he hadn't slept in days," Hermione whispered back.

"Um, guys, he just lost his brother. They were like best friends. He probably feels about the same as George right now," Ginny whispered to them. Ron nodded sadly. But before anyone could reply they were at the front door. Harry reached up and rang the door bell. They heard the cheerful ding dong, and someone say, 'I'll get it.' And soon Denis' face was sadly smiling at them.

"Hey guys, glad you could make it. Come in." He smiled sadly and led them to a clean but homey living room filled with a dozen people. All the women in the room and one man had red puffy eyes, but the man was staring off into the distance sadly. "Everyone, I'd like to introduce mine and Colin's friends from school. This is Ginny Weasley, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all a grade above Colin, and Ginny was the same grade. Guys, these are my relatives: My mum Crystina, my dad Harvey," here's where Denis pointed to the sad looking man with the puffy red eyes. "My Aunt Gladys, my Uncle Dewy, my Grandmum Creevey, my cousins Jill, Peter, Gertrude, Daniel, and Enya. And you know Luna and Professor McGonagall." Everyone said their hellos, and an awkward silence fell.

"Harrumph, well, you all went to the same school did'ja? Maybe one of these kids could tell me more about it," grumped the old woman in the chair with wheels. All the magical people exchanged confused looks, while Denis' mum looked exasperated.

"How many times do we have to tell you Agnes, we've told you all we know. The school requires the students to sign a waiver promising not to tell anything about their school to outsiders, it's a severely private institution, that values it's secrecy. Do you really have to do this today? I really don't want to have another argument over this, especially today. Please, just be quiet." Denis looked embarrassed about his mother's outburst, everyone else looked like they wished they could sink into the floor. Agnes looked about ready to start something but thought better of it in front of strangers and shut her mouth. Everyone sighed with relief, except Denis' dad, who was still staring off into space. Another awkward silence overcame the living room. Suddenly the phone rang, causing everyone in the vicinity to jump.

"I'll get it," said Denis' mum who left the room. Denis looked at everyone and sighed.

"Well, why don't we sit down." The five of them still standing went and sat on the remaining chairs.

"So, Luna, how are you doing?" asked Ginny.

"Oh, I'm doing fine. Daddy and I are cleaning up our house rather quickly. It was quite a mess." She smiled at them.

"Oh, I had forgot about that. How is your dad doing? There wasn't much damage done was there?" Hermione quickly asked forgetting the muggles.

"No, there wasn't any structural damage, we just had to rebuild the living room, my room, and a large part of the kitchen," she smiled serenely at them. The trio felt very guilty knowing that it was because of them that the Lovegood's home was in shambles.

"What exactly happened to your house, Luna?" asked Denis, glad to be away from the awkward silence.

"Oh, there was a minor explosion after Christmas. Daddy was there when it happened. It was a good thing he wasn't hurt bad, or we'd be having a hard time getting it all back together." The trio's guilt, if possible, grew much more after that statement.

"Er, if you want, Luna, we could come over this summer and help you fix it up," Harry offered. The muggles were listening with rapt curiosity.

"That's so nice of you to offer, Harry. I'll talk to Daddy and ask him about it, and send you a letter about it, alright?" Luna kept smiling. Harry nodded.

"Pardon me, but what caused the explosion in your home? I'm just a little curious," Denis' Aunt Gladys asked Luna. Luna looked to the others quickly knowing that she couldn't tell the truth, but not knowing enough about the muggle world to explain a believable lie. Hermione came to the rescue.

"I remember you telling me when it happened. Wasn't it a gas explosion?" Hermione gave Luna a significant look and nodded when everyone looked at Luna.

"Er, yes, it was. Horrible really. Good thing no one else was home and daddy was downstairs when it happened. I'm a little disappointed that I have to repaint the mural on my wall now, but maybe now I can paint it better than before." Harry remembered the painting of himself, Ron, Hermione, Neville and Ginny on the ceiling.

"Oh, you paint?" asked Jill. She had been wondering about the weird girl since she had arrived. Luna glanced up at her with a confused look on her face.

"Ms. Lovegood here is a painting student at our school. She learns the basics about older forms of painting such as mixing her own paints and lost traditions of painting styles like Fresco painting, and Impressionist art from the late 1800's." McGonagall replied quickly.

"Fresco? That sounds familiar?" Dewy said.

"Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling using the fresco method in the early 1500's. It's the most famous example of Fresco. Another good example would be the art in the Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi," Hermione stopped talking when she noticed ever face was gaping at her. She turned beet red and shrunk into her chair.

"And our Ms. Granger has focused her studies on the History aspect of Art." McGonagall smiled at her.

"What do the rest of you study?" asked Agnes cautiously. The group looked at each other and then at McGonagall. Harry thinking fast was the first to answer.

"Well, er, I study, um, ancient forms of…defence. Like um, swordsmanship, and battle stratagies. Ron, well, he studies the same with more ficus on the logic and strategy. We hope to one day join the Military. Ginny is studying…" Harry paused thinking hard.

"Music. I study history of music and current music," Ginny replied.

"That's a fairly wide range of subjects you teach at your school." Gladys said.

"Yes, the students come to us after grade school learning. So they have the basics of mathmatics, English grammer and spelling, some science, and history. When they get to our school they learn for a year all the different subjects in small doses and after First year they are allowed to pick subjects that intrest them. They also have several gerneral education courses that are required." McGonagall spoke as if she had known this all along. The students gaped at her.

"Harumph. Well, I guess there really is a school for the lost arts," Agnes grumbled.

"Um, I'm sorry to break up the conversation but it's time to walk down to the cemetary," Crystina told them. Everyone stood up and headed to the door, except Agnes who was being pushed by Dewy. The group walked in a weird line; first went the Creevey's, mum, Denis, and dad walking together holding each other's hands. Next came Agnes being pushed by Dewy who walked by his wife, Gladys. Follwing them were their children, Denis' cousins. Followed by McGonagall and Luna. The four stragled behind far enough to be able to hold a hushed conversation.

"Now I understand why McGonagall stayed. To make sure we didn't let something slip. I wonder how she came up with that story so fast," Ron whispered to them.

"Oh, Ron, you really need to read Hogwarts: A History. What she told them was the made up story that all professors are supposed to tell a muggle about the school they teach in if asked," Hermione replied quickly. Ron rolled his eyes and they caught up to the small group as everyone entered the gates. The walk to the plot of land was quick but silent. There was a small portly man in a priests outfit standing near the casket waiting for them. When they arrived he held a small hushed conversation with Crystina. She stepped back and stood next to her husband and the priest opened his mouth.

"Thank you all for being here today. I have a quote for you to start the service off. It may be a little unorthodox but I think it's a good quote. 'According to most studies, people's number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you're better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.' Jerry Seinfeld said that," Harry looked at the man with his mouth gaping. Hermione looked at him with a similar look. They looked at each other with horrified looks on their faces. Before they could say anything to each other the man went on.

"Now I know that is a little unorthodox," _You think,_ thought Harry. "But it's good to remember that even in death we need to laugh. Colin was a young man with great passions for life and family." The man rambled a long time about Colin, but Harry's mind wandered. He thought about Colin, the first time they met, the DA, and many more times over the years. The service wasn't a long one. It was over soon afterwards and the small group was walking back to the Creevey's home.

"We really must get going. Yes, thank you for inviting us. Goodbye Denis, it was nice meeting you Mr. and Mrs. Creevey, goodbye."

"Whew, I'm glad that's over. Trying at act muggle is really hard for so long," Ron sighed. "Well, lets find a place to apparate from." The four teens walked down a deserted street and detoured into an empty alley. They stood behind a dumpster.

"Have any of you been to the Tonks' house?" Harry asked and saw three shaking heads. "Ok, well why don't I show one of you two by side along, then we can come back for the others, ok?" Hermione nodded and stepped forward.

"I think I should go, ok Ron?" Ron shrugged. Harry told Hermione to grab onto his arm and they popped away, and back a few seconds later.

"Ok, Ginny take my hand. Lets go on three, one, two, three!" Two loud pops shook the air. The two couples arrived on the lawns of the Tonks residence and they walked up to the door and knocked.

Andromeda answered the door and hugged them all as they entered.

"Oh Harry dear, it's good to see you again. Come on everyone, through here." She ushered them into a large sitting room where the other Weasley's and several Order members were sitting all around two open caskets. Harry gasped and started shaking his head. Ginny held his hand and hushed him. She looked into wide tearful eyes.

"Harry, it's ok. You don't have to go see them, just walk to a chair and sit down. It'll be ok. Alright?" He looked into her eyes, and nodded. It would be alright, he could do this. She started walking, holding his hand, and pulling him slightly into the room. Ron and Hermione looked at him sadly with understanding. The two walked to the chairs next to their friends and sat down.

"Breathe Harry," Ginny whispered. He took a few deep breaths and slowly his panic calmed down. They sat and waited for a while until everyone had showed up. Harry's eyes never left the caskets.

This service went similar to Dumbledore's and Colin's as there was an older man talking about Remus and Tonks. Harry's mind wandered during the service. He noticed Andromeda sitting up front wiping her eyes and holding a small bundle. He saw a tuft of light blue hair sticking out of the top and realized that it was Teddy. _After the service she's going to want to talk to me about raising Teddy. What if she wants me to take him? What if she says she can't handle raising a small child again? I'd have to drop out of school, at least if they open it back up. I'd be a parent. But what if she doesn't approve of me being Godfather to Teddy, what if she doesn't want me to have anything to do with him? I won't be absent from his life, I refuse to not be there. I grew up without my parents and godfather, I won't let that happen to Teddy._ Harry's thoughts stayed this way for a while. Suddenly, he was drawn from his thoughts as everyone rose to their feet and headed to the back yard.

"What's going on? I think I drifted. Why are we going out here?" Harry whispered to Ginny.

"We're having lunch in the yard. Come on." They went outside and sat down with the rest of the Weasley's. Lunch was shredded barbequed pork sandwiches and scalloped potatoes with vegetables and fruit on the side. Harry poked at his food, not hungry. His head shot up when he heard the loud cry of a small child. He saw Andromeda stand up and walk to the back door and felt the urge to head inside and help out. The baby was part of his responsibility. He stood up and made to follow her when he felt a hand on his. He looked down into Ginny's eyes.

"You should eat something Harry. Andromeda's got Teddy for now. Eat, you barely ate at breakfast." She patted the bench she was sitting on.

"Really Gin, I'm not hungry. I want to go and talk to her now, while she's alone. Maybe I can help her a little." He started to walk away and she stood up. "No, Gin, this is something I need to do alone. They left me as his godfather, I need to do this." She sat back down and watched him go. If he had looked back he would have seen the love in her eyes glowing and her eyes water.

He walked inside and listened. He could hear the cries coming from somewhere to his left. He walked on following the cries until he arrived in the kitchen. He saw Andromeda balancing a baby in her arms and a pan in the other heading to the stove.

"Here let me help you," Harry said. She jumped a little but not much and turned carefully to see who had come in.

"Oh, Harry dear. Come over here and take him, I can cook his bottle then." She set the pan down and handed the small crying bundle to him. He looked down and for the first time saw the little puff of turquoise hair and hazel eyes up close. Harry felt something deep in his heart break. This poor little baby had lost both his parents just as Harry had. He saw so much of himself in little Teddy that he found it hard to breathe. He stood there in the middle of the kitchen staring at the little boy for several moments before his tiny cry of hunger broke the silence. Harry cuddled the bundle to his chest and hushed him.

"Shh, shh it's ok Teddy, it's ok. We're getting you a bottle. You'll have a full tummy in a few moments. Shh, shh." After shushing him for a few minutes Teddy hushed and stared at the man holding him with little teary eyes. The two orphans stared for a long time. Soon Andromeda was coming over with the bottle. She had watched Harry's face when he took Teddy. She knew he probably didn't even know that he had tears running down his cheeks. She saw him fall in love that little boy, just the same as when Remus held him for the first time. Smiling sadly she walked over to them and broke the moment.

"You're a natural. He seems to have really taken to you. Would you like to feed him. I have to get back outside, but if you'd like you can stay here or in the den and feed him if you'd like. Away from the crowd?" She saw Harry look up at her and nod. He followed her across the living room and to a side door he hadn't noticed before. They walked into a small, cozy room equipped with deep blue furnishings. The floor was a dark chestnut wood covered in subtle carpets. Harry walked over to a small sofa and softly sat down careful not to jostle the baby. As soon as he was settled Teddy started to fuss and Andromeda handed Harry a small blue baby's bottle. Harry placed the tip in Teddy's mouth only for the child to spit it back out and promptly begin wailing. Harry tried once more only to have the bottle fly out of his hands because Teddy whacked it with his failing arms and sent it sailing away.

"Accio bottle. Here Harry. He's not used to bottles yet. Please keep trying. If it gets to be too much, send a patronus to come get me, ok?" Harry looked up at her and nodded, and watched her practically run from the room.

"Ok, so we're alone now, and you are screaming. Ok, what did I just get myself into here." Harry looked around the room frantically, and decided to calmly speak to the child. "Teddy, hush, shh. I know your hungry, and I know that bottles probably aren't what you want right now. But…shh, please, try for me ok. It's not so bad. See, there you go, once you get used to it, it's all just the same. Right?" Harry kept soothing the babe by softly speaking to it, soon the bottle was empty and Teddy was staring at Harry curiously.

"Yeah, that was tasty wasn't it? Yeah. You know, we're not that different you and I." Harry didn't notice the short red-head near the door watching him with tears in her eyes. "You're going to grow up not knowing your parents, just like me. But, don't you worry, I'll be here to tell you about them. I'll tell you stories about when Remus was in school with my parents. They were called the Marauders. There was your daddy, Remus, my daddy, James, and my godfather, Sirius. There was one other, but he wasn't a nice guy, so we won't talk about him. My daddy and your daddy's best friend was Sirius Black. He was my godfather. I didn't get to know him very much, see he was in prison for my childhood. Don't get me wrong, he was innocent, but he couldn't be there for me like I'll be there for you. You just have to give me time to get used to this whole adult-parent role, ok? I've never had to take care of a baby before, and to be honest the responsibility makes me a little nervous. But hey, I think I'm doing pretty good, right? You're not crying anymore." Harry smiled at the child and hugged him to his chest holding him and rocking him slightly.

"I'm sure you'll do just fine, Harry," Ginny said quietly as she walked into the room. Harry looked up sadly at her.

"You think?" he said.

"Of course, like you said, he's not crying anymore, right?" she smirked. He smirked back while he lowered the sleeping baby back to his lap. What he saw surprised him. The child he had been hugging had turquoise hair but the baby he laid back down had scruffy black untamable hair. He stared open mouthed at Teddy and back at Ginny who smiled at him sadly.

"See, he already loves you. I bet if his eyes were open they'd be striking emerald green, just like his godfathers. You have spent an hour with him and he already feels safe in your arms, Harry. What more proof do you need?" he smiled at her and she knew she had gotten through to him. They sat and talked for a while until Andromeda came back.

"You got him to sleep? Oh, Harry, thank you. He hasn't been easting or sleeping since it happened. It's like he could sense that they're not here. All he does all day is cry. I just don't know what to do with him. I have to be strong for him, but that doesn't leave me much time to grieve my daughter and son-in-law or my husband. I wanted to talk to you about possibly you coming and staying with me for a few weeks. It'll help us get to know each other better, and you could help me with Teddy until I feel better about all this. You don't have to if you don't want to, please don't feel obligated. I just thought you might…want to spend more time with Teddy. You could have your friends stay some nights and we could switch off waking up at night so that you could go out and be young and carefree still. Please, think about it. Don't answer me today, sleep on it and consider it, please." She took a sleeping Teddy from him and straightened up. "Molly is waiting for you two outside. Better get going. And Harry, thank you for helping me today. I really needed the break. Good bye!" Andromeda turned, holding Teddy, and walked down the hallway away from the stunned Harry and Ginny. Harry looked at Ginny expecting sympathy for the older woman, but instead saw anger and incredulousness.

"Er, Gin? We should get going. Come on." He gently pulled her arm till she followed. They walked out of the den and into the formal living room and Harry stopped. There were the caskets again. This time there was no one in the room but them. Ginny looked at Harry and saw determination, guilt, and sorrow all at once cross his young face. She squeezed his hand and he glanced down at her.

"I have too…I have too see them. One more time," he said in a strained voice, but stayed still. For several minutes they didn't move, until he let go of her hand and stepped forward. Slowly he moved forward alone towards the larger of the two caskets. Before he came into sight of the body, he paused and took a deep breath and swallowed. He nodded his head as if deciding to do something and stepped forward. A sharp intake of air signaled that he saw his mentor's body now. Tears clouded his vision and he found it hard to breathe. There was the man who taught him so many things, how to fight a Bogart and dementors, told him about his parents, and made him a Godfather to his son. Harry took a deep, shaky breath when he realized that he was holding it in.

"I promise I'll take good care of him for you. I won't let you down. Goodbye Moony, the last of the marauders." Harry sniffed loudly and moved towards the smaller casket.

"Hey, Tonks. Or should I say, Nymphadora, since you can't hit me now," Harry chuckled. "Ok, sorry, I didn't mean that. You were a great friend, Tonks. I'll miss you. I promise, Teddy will be well taken care of. He will be so spoiled. I won't let you down. Don't let the marauders get to rowdy now… Goodbye, Mrs. Lupin. Thank you for finally showing him love, he needed it." Ginny walked up to Harry and circled her arms around his waist. She started walking him towards the door.

"Come on, mum's waiting." They walked outside holding each other, feeling each others grief, and letting each other feel it, knowing that to finally overcome grief they'd have to experience grief. They knew the days to come would be hard, but that they would be there for each other, with a shoulder to cry on. Mrs. Weasley saw them coming and noticed their tears. She called to them to meet at home, and disappeared leaving them alone. Harry smiled at Ginny and she smiled up at him. They shared a chaste kiss and a hug and they too disappeared.

* * *

After dinner, everyone sat down in the sitting room for a cup of tea and some soft music on the wireless. Mrs. Weasley sat in her rocker and knitted slowly, not really focused on anything going on around her. Mr. Weasley sat in his chair and opened a book titled _Muggles: Inventions Made to Compensate for Lack of Magic _by Baxter Grae. George sat and read over a few pieces of parchment rosters for the store. Percy worked on something to do with the WWW for George since technically he had quit his job. Ron and Hermione sat near the fire and whispered to each other, while Harry and Ginny did the same near the back of the room. Charlie and Bill sat with Fleur discussing Shell Cottage and the Dragon Preserve. Everyone was content for an hour or so until Mrs. Weasley yawned and looked around the room.

"Well, everyone, I'm sorry but I just can't keep my eyes open any longer. I'm off to bed a little early tonight. Don't you all stay up too late. Good night." She gave Arthur a kiss and passed through to the stairs while everyone said their goodnights to her as well.

Not long after the guys all started playing a card game with their Exploding Snap deck. Arthur reading with a smile on his face would occasionally call out to Harry and Hermione about some invention or other to see if they had used them at some point, the most recent being a Vacuum.

"Yeah, but it's pronounced Vak-yoom. They're really noisy though," Harry responded with a smile. Hermione smirked over at him then yawned. Ginny seeing Hermione yawn, yawned also. Which caused Fleur to yawn as well. Soon all the girls were in bed asleep.

* * *

The guys decided to have a late night snack and went to the kitchen. They sat and chatted quietly for a while. Abruptly, George sat up straighter.

"I could really use a drink, right now. Maybe it'll help me forget about tomorrow." Bill stared at his little brother.

"You know George, alcohol won't help you forget, most of the time it causes the feelings you're having to get worse." Everyone was carefully watching George who nodded then stood up.

"I know that, but for right now I want to go out and drink. I at least deserve that before my twins funeral. I'm going to go to the Three Broomsticks. Come if you want, stay if you must, but please don't try to stop me. I need this tonight." George turned to leave but was stopped when a voice called out, but did not turn around.

"Son, I know you feel like you need this but remember that you can always talk to me, and I'm sure everyone in this room will be willing to talk to you, listen to you if you need it. Just don't forget that your mother and I love you, we don't want to see you hurt yourself," Arthur said quietly. George stood still for a moment before nodding and then walking out the door. Arthur turned to the rest of the room. "Please, go with him. Make sure he doesn't hurt himself. Bring him home safely. I'll stay up a little later to make a hangover draught for tomorrow, as I'm sure he'll need it." As one everyone stood up and walked to the door. Bill stopped after everyone had left and turned to his father.

"He'll be fine, dad. He knows we're all here for him. You worry about mum, ok? She's taking this harder than George I think. If Fleur wakes up, let her know where I am ok? We'll see you in the morning I guess." Arthur clapped a hand on the shoulder of his oldest and nodded to him. Bill left and popped to the pub in Hogsmeade.

What he found there was George sitting at a table with his brothers and Harry and Hagrid. Everyone, besides Hagrid, already had one empty shot glass in front of them, George had three. Bill walked up to the table as everyone got ready for another shot. As Charlie handed him one he looked up at him and said, "Make it a double, I gotta catch up, right?" George smiled.

"Damn right. I've already downed three." George was smiling a lot. "You should have seen Ronnie here take his first ever shot of Firewhiskey, it was magnificent. He almost spayed us all and nearly coughed up a lung he did." Clearly George was feeling a little better with some booze in him.

"I did not cough up a lung, I cleared my throat. That's all," Ron sputtered causing everyone to laugh. "Besides, Harry coughed too."

"Yes, ickle Ronnie-kins, but Harry was at least able to get it all down on the first go, didn't he?" George chuckled. "But, hey, if you want another go, then lets do another, so you can prove yourself a true Weasley. On go, wait, clinky, we forgot to clink. Ok, now on go. Go!" After everyone had take their shot, Ron only coughing a little, the group sat and laughed about different things. Charlie talked about getting Norbert, who was shortly re-named Norberta, which raised a few red eyebrows from the older siblings, never having heard the story. Hagrid was just glad to hear that Norberta now had a mate and two little pups. "Aw, my little Norberta's all grown up." Percy was appalled to hear about a Dragon biting Ron, and them helping send it to a safer place.

Several shots later found the group singing along to the music and dancing together loudly.

As I was goin' over the Cork and Kerry mountains  
I saw Captain Farrell and his money he was countin'  
I first produced my pistol and then produced my rapier  
I said stand and deliver or the devil he may take ya.

Bill and Hagrid were chuckling at the four guys singing at the top of their lungs. Harry, Charlie, Percy, and George were all singing the new Metallica version of Whiskey In The Jar so loud other patrons of the bar were complaining of the noise. Bill was just surprised that Percy had even known the words to the song, let alone known the muggle rock version.

_Musha ring dum a doo dum a da  
Whack for my daddy-o  
Whack for my daddy-o  
There's whiskey in the jar_

Bill, Ron and Hagrid all laughed out loud at the guys' drunken attempt at the chorus. Soon the song was done and a new one started. This one Ron and Hagrid knew so they joined in. Bill chuckled before he decided to join them as well. It was a funny song, he had to admit.

Well a Scotsman clad in kilt left a bar one evening fair,  
And one could tell by how he walked that he'd drunk more than his share.  
He fumbled 'round until he could no longer keep his feet,  
And he stumbled off into the grass to sleep beside the street.

The small group sang the chorus loudly and with huge smiles on their faces.

Ring-ding-diddle-iddle-adi-o  
Ring-da-diddly-ai-o  
He stumbled off into the grass to sleep beside the street.

By the second verse many more in the bar had joined in the humorous song.

_About that time two young and lovely girls just happened by,  
One says to the other with a twinkle in her eye,  
"See yon sleeping Scotsman, so strong and handsome build,  
I wonder if it's true what they don't wear beneath the kilt?"_

Ring-ding-diddle-iddle-adi-o  
Ring-da-diddly-ai-o  
I wonder if it's true what they don't wear beneath the kilt?

Soon many were dancing a Scottish Jig while singing along.

They crept up on that sleeping Scotsman, quiet as could be,  
Lifted up his kilt about an inch so they could see.  
And there, behold, for them to view beneath his Scottish shirt,  
Was nothing more than God had graced him with upon his birth.

Ring-ding-diddle-iddle-adi-o  
Ring-da-diddly-ai-o  
Was nothing more than God had graced him with upon his birth.

They marveled for a moment than one said, "We must be gone,  
Let's leave a present for our friend before we move along."  
As a gift they left a blue silk ribbon tied into a bow,  
Around the bonny-star that the Scot's kilt did lift and show.

Ring-ding-diddle-iddle-adi-o  
Ring-da-diddly-ai-o  
Around the bonny-star that the Scot's kilt did lift and show.

Before the pub was able to get to the last verse, the door opened and in walked several people, stunned to see almost an entire pub dancing and even more singing. But what stunned them most were the several Weasley's in the center of it all along with Harry Potter. All of them drunk and laughing, singing and dancing. 

Now the Scotsman woke to nature's call and stumbled towards a tree,  
Behind the bush he lifts his kilt and gawks at what he sees.  
And in a startled voice he says to what's before his eyes, oh  
"Lad I don't know where ya been but I see you've won first prize."

The newcomers to the pub laughed uproariously when they recognized the song.

_  
Ring-ding-diddle-iddle-adi-o  
Ring-da-diddly-ai-o, oh  
Lad I don't know where ya been but I see you won first priiiiiiiiiiiize._

"Well, that was quite a show. Did not expect to see them here, let alone doing that," Professor Sprout said to Professor McGonagall, who nodded her head in shock. She walked over to Hagrid and sat down with him, the other Professors following her.

"Hagrid, what are Harry and the Weasley boys doing here? And what in Merlin's name are they doing singing?" Filius Flitwick asked the giant man across from him.

"Ah, they're just lettin' off some steam, Fred Weasley's funeral is tomorrow. I'm sure tha's par' of the reason they're 'ere," Hagrid said thickly. The drunker he gets the thicker his accent gets, the other's understood him clearly though. Suddenly a crash from the other side of the room disturbed them. A rush from a group near the Weasley party caused the teachers to jump up and run over to see what was going on.

"It's not our fault, he's the one who broke the radio. Why isn't he getting kicked out?" shouted a short man, who was obviously too drunk to stand on his own. He was pointing at Charlie Weasley and shouting more, while being held back by his mates. They visibly weren't as drunk as their friend. Madam Rosmerta was directing the group of men holding the obnoxious one outside. After they left the Weasley's burst out laughing. The rest of the Professor's went back and sat down, but McGonagall stayed.

"Charlie, it's nice to see you again. I'm sorry I haven't been able to catch up since the memorial. Bill, does Arthur know where you all are?" She asked the least drunk member.

"What-Oh yeah, he knows. He actually told us to come. You know, keep an eye on the younger ones, and make sure everyone gets home…though that's going to be difficult now. I don't think any of us are going to be able to appaperate, wait, apapper…apperpate. You know what I mean." Bill laughed at his inability to speak clearly, which caused the Charlie, and Percy to laugh also. George, Ron, and Harry all too drunk to understand what was being spoken about heard laughter and laughed also. Bill, Charlie, and Percy followed the professor to the table the others had sat in and engaged in conversation while the three youngest went to another table and ordered another round.

"'Arry, guess what? I love 'ermione so much. I just love her. Don't you just love her, I just want to kiss her and do things with her… I really love 'er," Ron slurred. Harry meanwhile was staring at a cup.

"Ron, I think that they stopped…serving us real whiskey." Harry looked at his friends who stared back with glazed eyes.

"Why you do…why you do…wait, why…do you think that?" George asked slurring even more than Ron.

"I can't taste it anymore. Tastes like…water." Harry glared at the cup.

"Maybe your tongue died," Ron mumbled, then started laughing. "Bill, Harry's tongue died! He can't taste anything!" The drunk trio wandered and stumbled across the bar to the table of teachers and brothers. Harry looked frightened while George and Ron were laughing hysterically between hiccups.

"Bill, Bill, guess..._hic_…what. Harry's tongue…_hic_…died! Ha, ha _hic_ ha!" Ron laughed.

"Why did it have to die? Why? I don't want it to be died…dead. Ha, Ronnie's got the _hic_ hiccups! Oh crap! _Hic._ Now I do _hic_ too!" Everyone, even the Professors, laughed at this. No one had ever seen heroic Harry Potter like this before. And it was a sight to see. It was good to see him acting his age, even though they all disapproved of this type of behavior.

"Hey, how 'bout 'nother round o'r here, Rosie?" George yelled out to the barmaid who smiled and nodded.

"Ok, but after this one, we have to go home. Alright?" Bill, who had sobered up a bit, said to the group. Cries of no, and we're having fun were called out, followed by a very loud hiccup that echoed across the noisy pub from Harry.

"Er, sorry, can't _hic_ help it. _Hic_." Harry laughed along with the others because of his very persistent, and very loud, hiccups. When the round came everyone took a shot glass and clicked it together with everyone else's.

"A toast!" cried Hagrid loudly.

"Too what?" cried Harry and Ron together equally loudly.

"Oh, I know, pick me!" yelled George. Bill nodded to him and chuckled.

"To Life! And moving on!" said George. Everyone nodded, and raised their glasses.

"Wait, and to _hic_…family!" yelled Ron.

"And Friends!" said Harry who promptly hiccupped again.

"To Love!" said Bill.

"To Education!" cried little Flitwick.

"To…the end of the war!" said Sprout.

"No kidding!" shouted Harry which made everyone laugh.

"Ok, I think that's the one, to the end of the War!" said McGonagall who the downed her shot of Firewhiskey before anyone could make another toast. Everyone but Ron and Harry downed their shot, the two of them just stared at McGonagall with wide eyes.

"What? Just because I'm a teacher I can't hold my Firewhiskey? You boys have a lot to learn," she chuckled. "Now, finish your shots. I'm going to make a portkey for you boys so you get home safely, ok?" The other professors laughed at Minerva's comment while the boys nodded and took their shots like they were told. Minerva laughed and stood up. Bill, Charlie, and Percy stood up and went to follow her outside but stopped when they realized that Ron, Harry, and George could walk on their own. They each shook their heads and took another under their arm and half lifted them outside where Minerva had a large rock in her hand. She held it out for them and made sure everyone was touching it, placing it in Bill's hand.

"Now, go home and go to sleep, boys. I afraid of what your mother is going to say in the morning. _Activus,_" She smiled at their horrified looks as they popped out of sight. She went back into the bar and sat back down.

"Well, Minerva, I don't think those boys will ever respect you again, if they can even remember what you said," chuckled Pomona. Filius laughed and so did Hagrid. She raised her eyebrows smirked and ordered another round. George was right, it was time to move on.

The boys all landed hard on the ground outside the Burrow. Ron promptly rolled over and threw up in a begonia bush. Harry laid not far from him, having landed on his back after Charlie dropped him to catch himself. Harry stared up at the sky.

"Look at all the stars." Bill and Charlie chuckled and picked Ron and Harry up, while Percy struggled getting George off the ground. The six of them walked inside quietly and into the kitchen. A note was lying in the table, which Bill read aloud.

"_Dear kids, I made the potion, but it requires that you drink it upon waking up the next morning. I'll make sure you get it then. Goodnight. Make sure you sleep on your sides. Dad._ Well, that was nice of him. Come on, let's get these guys off to bed. Perce, you and Charlie switch brothers, Charlie can put George to bed in their room. Come on, Ron, upstairs." Bill and Percy heaved and pulled the two near dead weights up the five flights of stairs as quietly as they could. By the time the got up them, they were seating profusely and Ron and thrown up twice more. Harry was mumbling something about Ginny that neither wanted to hear completely.

"Ugh, Harry if you get any clearer and I hear something I don't like, I'm pushing you down the stairs," Percy grumbled. Bill chuckled and shoved Ron into his bed where within seconds the young red-head was snoring a loud tune. Bill shook his head and he and Percy went down the stairs to their own rooms, and too bed finally.

Harry having not fallen asleep like Ron, laid in bed thinking of his girlfriend and wanting to see her very badly. He wasn't feeling very good and he knew she could make him feel better. So he stood up and swayed and lurched to the door. He traveled back down the four flights of stairs to her room and opened the door as quietly as he could. He walked in and over to her bed and kneeled on the floor next to her.

"Ginny? Ginny, wake up. I don't feel good and I need you to make it better," Harry whispered loudly. Ginny groaned and rolled over to see a glassy eyed Harry smiling at her.

"Harry? What are you doing in here? What's wrong with you?" she mumbled wishing for sleep. Harry giggled. This woke her up more. "Did you just giggle? Harry are you ok?" She sat up and he pulled back from the bed only to sway and topple to the ground, still giggling. Ginny peeked over the edge of her bed confused and fully awake now.

"Er, Harry, are you ok?" she whispered.

"I'm just fine, Gin, I'm only just a little drunk, not a lot, just a little. Not like Ron, he threw up, um, three times! Ha, ha, I didn't throw up not once!" Harry said a little too loudly, waking up Hermione.

"Ginny, did he just say he was drunk and so was Ron?" Hermione mumbled across the room.

"Oh 'Mione, I didn't mean to wake you up, I just wanted to see Ginny, 'cuz I love her and I don't feel very good and she'll make it better." Harry grinned at her. The two girls looked at each other and grinned.

"Um, Harry, how did you and Ron get drunk?" Ginny asked quietly.

"Er, George said he needed a drink and so we all went to the three brooms and had a few shots. Your dad told us to make sure George was ok, so we kept him company and sang with him." Harry slumped to the floor in his attempt to get into bed with her. "Ow," he muttered rubbing his head which had hit an end table. Hermione giggled while Ginny helped Harry up and onto the edge of her bed. Harry heard Hermione giggle and he giggled back.

"So, um, who all came with you and Ron and George? Did you say that dad knew?" Ginny asked him while smoothing out his hair.

"Mm, that feels so good Gin. I knew you would make it better," Harry mumbled leaning his head into her hand.

"Harry, focus. Who came with you?"

"Um, Bill, and Charlie, and um, oh, Percy. He's a good singer, did you know that?" Harry giggled.

"Er, no, I didn't. Anyone else?" Ginny asked trying not to imagine Percy singing, which she knew he did not, in fact, have a good singing voice.

"Um, Ron and um, George. Oh, and Ron. Oh and I forgot Bill, he was there too." Harry sighed leaning up against Ginny. "Oh, and hagrid, and McGonagall, Sprout and Flitwick. We all drink, er, drank some Firewhiskey, and toasted everything." He smiled at the giggling girls.

"Harry, did you say that you drank with a group of teachers? That I find hard to believe," Hermione chuckled shaking her head.

"They were there, Mc…McGongle, made us a portkey for us 'cuz we were all too drunk to appaperate," Harry said forcefully.

"Did you just appaperate? And McGongle? Wow, you really are drunk," Ginny laughed. "We should really get you to bed Harry." Harry shook his head.

"No, I don't want to go to Ron's room, he's singing too loudly," Harry mumbled. It was obvious that Harry was very close to passing out.

"Um, he's singing Harry?" Hermione questioned him with a wide grin.

"No, silly, he's Singing. Why would he be snoring, 'Mione? He's asleep," Harry giggled which caused the girls to giggle some more.

"Well, Harry I don't know if you can sleep here. Hermione, would you have a problem with Harry staying in here, besides I don't think that the two of us could get him up four flights of stairs when he can barely stand." She looked at Harry to find him asleep on her shoulder. She smiled at him endearingly.

"Well, seeing as how he's sound asleep already, I guess I could enlarge my bed and you could sleep over here with me. Or, you know, share a bed with him." Hermione smirked. Ginny looked at Harry and smirked back.

"I think I will share with him. Besides, you kick in your sleep, and I like my shins thank you." The two girls giggled. Hermione grabbed her wand and enlarged Ginny's bed to a queen size. They laid Harry down and conjured a pillow for him and Ginny laid down next to him.

"Figures, the first time we sleep together he'd have to be passed out," Ginny muttered making Hermione laugh. "I just hope mum doesn't find us like this." With that the two girls went to sleep chuckling at Harry's never before seen drunkenness.

* * *

A/N: wow this got long. 22 pages and 12,731 words long. Over twice the minimum length I require for myself. Jeez Louise. About the quote the guy used at Colin's funeral, I have heard that quote at a loved ones funeral service. The guy was nearly thrown out of the building. I thought it was hilarious at the time. Now, well, I still think that at that time it was funny. I just wanted to use it for Harry and Hermione's reactions! Lol. I liked the idea to have a very drunk Harry and Ron. For some reason I figured Ron can't hold his liquor very well. He just seems so innocent to me in that respect. I also thought that George was a happy drunk, he's had so much grief lately that I thought I would let him have some fun. Those two songs I chose are two of my favorites. Whiskey in the Jar seemed to fit the situation, seeing as how they drank a few Jars of Whiskey and I'm not sure when it came out but my computer's Media player says 1998 so it would have been a newer song then. And while it is a pub in a fully magical town Muggle music is better in my opinion so I figured someone may have brought a muggle radio to the pub. and the Drunken Scotsmen song is just the perfect drunk person song to sing in the pub. It's hilarious! I hope I did the funerals justice, I didn't want them to be too long, and so I didn't go into the words said at the services but I guess I failed in the respect cuz now even my a/n is getting long. Reviews are like oxygen people! Please review!


	9. Comic Tales, Quidditch, and Good News

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters herein are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No copyright infringement is intended.

**_Comic Tales, Quidditch, and Good News_**

The next morning Ginny woke up slowly confused at the warm lump next to her. She rolled over and the movement caused the lump to groan and shift. Ginny opened her eyes widely and saw a puff of black hair next to her nose. Memories of the night before rushed to her and she grinned. She shifted again to find a more comfortable position and Harry groaned again and rolled over to face away from the offending sunlight. He cracked open his eyes to see Ginny smiling at him. He blinked not remembering how he got in her bed from the pub.

"Er, why…oh bloody hell, my head. How did I get here? Why are we in bed together?" he mumbled.

"Well, I remember going to bed last night and then being woken up at Merlin knows when by my boyfriend's drunken ramblings. I believe we owe Hermione thanks for making the bed larger, since neither of us could have carried you up the stairs and you happened to fall asleep on me. Oh and I distinctly remember you giggling, a lot," she smirked at him.

"Oh, not so loud, please. What time is it?" Harry closed his eyes against the bright morning light.

"I do believe that it's almost 6:30. What's the last thing you remember?" she prompted from him.

"I don't know, singing, and lots of Firewhiskey, and something about McGonagall. Really, after about the fifth shot of Firewhiskey it gets all hazy. I remember loud music and singing. I think your dad said something about a hangover draught, or maybe that was Bill. All I know is that my head feels like a herd of Hippogriffs stampeded over it and then made me drink lots of alcohol." Harry cleared his dry, fuzzy throat only to groan at the unpleasant pounding it caused between his temples. Ginny giggled.

"Well, it serves you right for over indulging. Come on before my parents wake up. Let's get you upstairs." She reached over to kiss him. "By the way, you have horrible morning breath." Now that he was standing he smacked her rear and she laughed and ran from the room. He followed sluggishly up the stairs. As he neared the top, he saw her enter Ron's room and heard her shriek and run from the room right into him. She was laughing hysterically and trying to talk but all Harry could make out was Ron, and clothes. She was laughing so hard she had to sit down on the steps and hold herself up by the wall. Harry, whose headache was not improving with her laughter, entered the room cautiously. He saw his bed virtually unused and glanced over to see Ron spread eagled on his own bed without a stitch of clothing on.

"Oh God!" Harry yelled and backed out of the room very fast. "That was not something I had to see this early in the morning, and while I'm feeling very nauseous." Harry had to sit and put his head between his knees to avoid vomiting. Ginny rubbed his back giggling still.

"Do you…think he…got a little warm?" Ginny asked trying unsuccessfully to not laugh too loudly. Harry started shaking with mirth still bent in half. Suddenly, he snorted loudly, which caused Ginny to start laughing noisily again. The two sat chuckling at the top of the stairs for a while until Harry sat up.

"Hey, Gin, I have an idea. Let's go wake up Hermione." She giggled and nodded her head. They went back down the stairs.

"Hermione Jane Granger, wake up right now, you're going to miss your NEWTS!" Ginny said just loud enough to wake the bushy haired teen, who sat up in bed like she'd been shot. "Good, now that you are awake," Ginny started ignoring the glare from her room mate. "Ron needs you, and fast. We think he may be having a really bad nightmare. We can't wake him up, we need you to help. He keeps calling for you," Ginny said frantically. Harry bit his lip trying not to laugh. Hermione stood up quickly and left the room followed closely by Harry and Ginny, who both were in silent stitches.

"What did you guys try doing to wake him up so far?" Hermione asked groggily.

"Um, shaking him and yelling at him, but he won't wake up," Harry said quickly, hoping that his laughter sounded more like worry than it did. The trio arrived at the top floor and Hermione opened the door and walked in. The other two stayed outside laughing. As soon and Hermione walked in she shrieked and ran back out. She started hitting Harry and slapping Ginny while shouting, "You two are so not funny! That was totally uncalled for! You woke me up at the butt-crack of dawn to prank me! Oohhh, I'll get you two back, I swear!" Hermione's ranting had woken the rest of the house, and they all came running to see who had screamed only to find a very irate Hermione and two laughing teens clutching each other to stay standing through their entertainment.

"What the devil is going on here? Do you three realize how early it is?" Charlie grunted.

"Oh, I know how early it is. Ask them what's going on! They're the ones that woke me up to prank me!" Hermione was gaining steam.

"What did you two do to her? Why are you two up here by Ron's room? What prank?" Mrs. Weasley demanded. All of a sudden, Harry and Ginny weren't laughing so hard anymore. They were standing together looking very guilty.

"Er, well, we may have told Hermione that Ron was having a nightmare and was calling out for her. We told her that we couldn't get him to wake up so we needed her help, and we had her go in first," Ginny said quietly. Harry, still trying to look guilty, snorted through his nose-which made a few of the guys laugh- and then tried to look guilty again. Mrs. Weasley looked from Harry to Ginny, who had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing again, then to Hermione. She stormed passed them and towards Ron's room, who miraculously had not woken up still. Harry and Ginny moved as far out of the way as possible when she went passed and both waited with baited breath.

"AAHHHHH!! RONALD BILLIUS WEASLEY YOU PUT SOME CLOTHES ON THIS INSTANT!" Harry and Ginny burst out laughing as did Bill, Charlie, Percy, and George. Fleur and Arthur were clearly trying not to laugh also, but failing miserably. Harry and Ginny were crying with delight at how well their joke had worked out. Hermione was smothering her face trying not to laugh out loud at Mrs. Weasley's reaction.

"Huh? What's going on? Mum? What are you doing in here, I'm not wearing any clothes!" Ron yelled. Everyone, even Arthur and Fleur, burst out laughing loudly.

Soon everyone was downstairs, and thankfully clothed, eating breakfast. Everyone with a hangover was given the draught on the sly from Mr. Weasley while his wife was in the pantry. Ron was sulking, at being the butt of everyone's joke. Harry and Ginny were assigned the task of de-gnoming the garden in preparation of the days event as their punishment. Everyone else was assigned tasks to clean up certain areas of the house and yard, while Mrs. Weasley cooked.

Harry and Ginny enjoyed their punishment together, despite Harry being bitten on the ankle by a particularly vindictive gnome. They had contests to see who could fling their gnomes the farthest, who could fling the most in five minutes, and who could make their gnome dizzier. After an hour of flinging gnomes into the field Mrs. Weasley called Ginny inside to help cook, and sent Harry to feed the chickens.

Near one in the afternoon, and after several ham and lettuce sandwiches, the subdued Weasley family started their walk to the small village cemetery where Fred would be laid to rest. They arrived and welcomed guests for a half an hour before the Ministry official arrived to lead the ceremony.

"I would like to thank you all for coming today. Just seeing the size of this group makes me believe that Fred Weasley was loved by many," the nasally man wearing a muggle suit and tie droned on. George leaned over to Harry.

"This is pathetic. He didn't even know Fred, why's he even here?" Harry nodded and looked around him. Mrs. Weasley was being held up by her husband because she was crying so hard, Hermione was hugging Ron and letting him cry into her hair while she cried on his shoulder. Ginny was sitting next to Harry crying but looking straight at the man who was speaking looking irritated. Percy was next to a short woman with long curly hair, who was comforting him. Charlie was sitting near his parents and Bill and Fleur were sitting on the other side of him. Fleur was crying and dabbing her eyes with Bill's handkerchief. Bill and Charlie had the same annoyed look as Ginny and George. George pulled something out of his pocket and mumbled something under his breath. Harry smiled. Fred was going out with a bang.

BANG! People jumped and looked around only to see a giant sparkling dragon flying over their heads. George calmly stood up and walked up to the podium. When he arrived he muttered something and the dragon firework disappeared.

"I'm terribly sorry, old chap, but I am George Weasley, and the 'obviously loved young man' you're talking about was my twin. And I must say, it's quite obvious that you know nothing about him. So you should leave. Goodbye!" The man stuttered and turned purple.

"How dare you, I came here today to give a eulogy the ministry has been saying at every fallen wizards funeral. This speech was written by a very accomplished writer, who…" the man stuttered and George interrupted.

"Exactly, that's exactly what I mean. This writer didn't know Fred, you don't know Fred. So why even bother? I could tell you stories about Fred that would make you wet your pants from laughing so hard. The thing about Fred, which you obviously don't know because you don't know him, is that he wouldn't want our mum, and his siblings crying about his death, he would want them crying from hilarity at our stupid escapades in school and work. So, man, I tell you now, you are no longer needed here. You can take your prewritten speech and shove it up your—"

"George! This is your brothers funeral, I don't want to hear you speaking like that!" Mrs. Weasley had stood up to yell at her grown son.

"Well, I think he got the jist of it. Buh-bye!" George smiled and wiggled his fingers at the man who huffed and walked out of the room. "Now, where was I? Oh yes, wetting your pants from laughing so hard. Ok, well, I, as Fred's twin would like to invite anyone who has an entertaining story, not sob stories allowed, to come up here and tell them to everyone. The goal is to make people laugh, so if it might embarrass me, go right ahead. In fact of it embarrasses anyone here go ahead. I'll start.

"I remember the train ride to our first year of school. We had met Lee Jordan and Angelina Johnson. We all shared a compartment together for the ride. Half way through the ride we were not so formally introduced to Montague and Warrington. They were to be first years also. Obviously Slytherin, because they couldn't lower their faces to look at the floor they were so used to rubbing their noses on the ceiling. But I digress. Being the adorable and innocent little firsties we were, we decided that after the two bullies had taken our candy, which people quickly learned to never do, we played a teeny weenie prank on them. Fred and I decided on two classic pranks: Itching powder in their underwear, and superglue in their trainers. The problem was, how do we get them in a situation where we could put said powder in their undies and super glue in their trainers. While they were out terrorizing other firsties like ourselves, we snuck into their compartment and put the powder in the first pair of underwear we found. Then we hid under the seats because as you all probably remember we were a little short so we fit under the seats. When they came back into their compartments they sat down and took their shoes off to relax, we worked our, shall I say, magic while they relaxed and ate their, or shall I say our, candy. When it came time for them to resume their terrorizing they left the compartment and we ran like there was no tomorrow. The next day, well, lets just say they were embarrassingly uncomfortable during breakfast and missed their first few classes and it took a few days for anyone to figure out we used muggle superglue so they had to get new shoes sent to them in the mail." People chuckled as George smiled at the memory. "I know, it's fairly juvenile but we were only eleven years old, we had not yet perfected our wiles. Now, who else has a story? Well? How about you Ronnie? Come on up here! That's a good boy!" George clapped Ron on the back and smiled gratefully as he was leaving the stage. "Make him proud little bro. Make us both proud," he said just loud enough for the front row to hear, which happened to be all the Weasley's and Harry. Mrs. Weasley sniffled and smiled and hugged George on his way back to his seat.

"Er, well, I guess that my story will be about the time that I became a prefect in school. It was the same year that Fred and George were inventing the Snackboxes. They had put up a sign in the Common room asking for volunteers to test the inventions for galleons. Hermione was pretty angry that they had put up the sign and told me that we needed to have a talk with them. Me, being the little wuss I was back then, made her do it on her own. She got pretty angry with me. But somehow Fred and George were able to still get a group of First years to test some product. They learned a lot that year, end the school year ended with a bang for them also. Literally, a very loud and castle shaking bang when they dropped the Portable Swamp in the hallway. People were talking about 'doing a Weasley' for weeks. It probably will be talked about for years, as the Weasley swamp. It probably didn't help that they actually kept a part of the swamp in the hallway instead of getting rid of it. Um, well that's my story, who's next?" Lee Jordan jumped up and ran to the dais.

"Ok, I remember the first time, or really the only time, the guys fought over a girl. It was in our Second year, and she was a Seventh year. Her name was Abigail Lewis." George groaned loudly which caused a few people to laugh. "Hey, mate, you said if it embarrassed you…Anyways, they had gotten to know her because they were tutored by her in Potions. They both got a crush on her, and got her a Valentine's gift that year. When they realized that they both liked her they got into a fight and nearly blew up Greenhouse three. While they were sitting in the hospital wing later Abby came to visit them and get some potion or other from Madam Pomfrey. They were yelling at each other from their separate beds, neither being able to get up, when she walked in. She heard their whole fight, and told them that she had a boyfriend who had already graduated, and besides, they were way too young for her. I think that day they learned a valuable lesson: Don't use _Reducto_ and _Inflamare_ together near the fertilizer," Lee chuckled as he walked away from the podium. Next in line to tell a story was Angelina.

"My story is kind of short. But Fred and I went together to the Yule Ball, as friends of course but, I remember dancing with him so wildly that people were scared to come near us. During one of his spectacular moves, he spun me around and accidentally let go. I was falling as I had tripped and he grabbed his wand and summoned me back to him, and we kept on dancing like it had never happened. Later people who saw, told me it was such a cool dance move. They had thought it was done on purpose! Fred just laughed and said that it took forever to get it right." People in the audience who had seen the dance move were laughing to themselves, remembering the surprisingly smooth accident. Angelina got down and several more stories were told by class mates and friends of Fred and George. After several long stories, the crowd was cracking up, sadness and grief forgotten. George glanced over to see Harry smiling at him, he nodded at him. Harry stood up and walked to the front and took a deep breath.

"The first time I ever saw Fred and George was at Kings Cross station. They were playing their Gred and Forge bit on their mother. I knew right then that they were ones to keep an eye on, probably didn't want to turn my back on. Then in Third year, when I wasn't allowed to go to Hogsmeade with the others, they showed me a secret passageway out of the castle. In my fourth year, they came with their dad and brother to pick me up from my relatives." George and Ron started to grin widely. Arthur groaned. "I see they all remember it well. See, Fred and George had just perfected their Ton-Tongue Toffee, and had their pockets full of them. Fred _accidentally_ dropped a bunch in front of my relatives, when he knew that my cousin Dudley was on a diet. Dudley decided that he wanted to have a piece of candy so he ate it before we left. Needless to say, his tongue was…how long Mr. Weasley?" Harry was smiling.

"It was four feet long and bright purple by the time I was able to fix it," Arthur sighed and smiled. People were roaring with laughter by now. Harry stepped away and sat back down. The next person up was Ginny. She had been sniffling on and off through the laugh fest but now she had the mischievous glint in her eyes as she walked up to the podium.

"Well, my story is about the first year I was at Hogwarts. That year was pretty bad for me, but I could always count on my older brothers for a laugh. But at one point even they brought it too far. It was the year we had Lockhart for a defense teacher. He decided that we all needed a little festive cheer around Valentines Day and hired dwarves to deliver valentines to people. Fred and George knew I had a crush on Harry Potter so they made up a poem and sent it to him. Problem was it was a singing valentine and it was delivered in front of everyone. I was mortified, but I made up for it later when I dropped fifty chocolate frogs in their dormitory while they were out," Ginny laughed at George's expression.

"That was you? I dreamed I was being attacked by giant chocolate amphibians for weeks!" George's comment made everyone laugh even harder.

The stories went on for a while longer, but after a while everyone started to get hungry, and being in a room full of hungry Weasley's is not usually a fun time. So George stood up one last time in front of them all.

"Fred was the only person I knew who could laugh at anything, no matter how shockingly horrid, or surprisingly embarrassing. He was always the one who had an idea or an escape plan if one of our schemes went bad. If it weren't for Fred, who knows what kind of person I'd be today, especially with an older brother like Percy. I'm just kidding Perce, we loved you despite your more, erm, professional qualities.

"The world needs laughter. Fred and I started a joke shop in the middle of a war, because we believed that was when most people needed the escape of laughter and carefree childishness. Now the world is short one person to laugh and make it bright so we need to work extra hard, because Fred wouldn't have wanted us to wallow in our sorrow. So someone get the mead and let's have ourselves a party in Fred's honor!"

So everyone who came was invited to the Burrow for a small late afternoon lunch. Many people came and stayed for a while. Fleur's family showed up for a short time to share their condolences. Everyone told more stories about the twins and about growing up with them or going to school with them. People were laughing until they cried, but Harry noticed that no matter how much he smiled or laughed at someone's memory, George's smiles and laughter never truly made it to his eyes.

* * *

Long after the last guest left, Harry and Ginny were sitting outside under the stars. It was the last night that Bill, Fleur, and Percy were staying at the house. The next day they were all going home to their own houses. Charlie was planning on staying another week before traveling back to Romania. As Harry and Ginny were laying in the grass, they heard the door open and saw several figures come out and head towards them.

"Ok, we're coming over there, stop doing anything indecent that we would not want to see!" Charlie yelled at them through the darkness. Ginny giggled and rolled Harry over and sat on top of him and began snogging him senseless. As her brother's neared they saw them making out and shouted.

"Oi! What did I just say! Great, now I have to kick his arse!" Charlie said menacingly.

"Shit!" Harry rolled out from under Ginny, jumped up, and started to run, but stopped when he heard laughter behind him. Ginny was chuckling and stood up next to him.

"He was just joking, Harry. Weren't you brother of mine, because if your weren't, and you were implying that I need you to fight my battles for me, I may have to teach you a lesson." She pulled out her wand and twirled it, creating sparks that lit up their faces, which suddenly looked terrified.

"Nope, I was totally joking. I would never hurt a hair on poor Harry's head, now would I Harry? Right? Wasn't I just saying the other night that I thought you and Ginny should get married and have lots of babies? Right Harry, mate?" Charlie said staring at his sisters wand. The other guys laughed at him and backed away.

"Sorry, _mate_, but I'm not going to incur the wrath of Ginny, by protecting you. Sorry I like my face hex free. Besides, I don't quite remember the other night very well, really it's all a haze," Harry smirked. The others laughed harder.

"You're a smart man Harry. You don't want to piss off, little Gin-Gin, she's a right little old devil when she's angry," George said and ducked behind Percy as Ginny shot a leg-flailing jinx at him, which hit Percy instead.

"Ahh! George, I'll get you back for that! You did that on purpose!" Percy moaned from the ground. He waved his wand over his jerking legs and mumbled the counter jinx and stood up. Ron chuckled and Hermione poked him in the ribs. There was still a little animosity between the youngest brother and his obstinate older brother.

"Well, what did you all want? Harry and I were having a nice talk, and we'd like to return to it," Ginny said with her arms crossed.

"Oh, talking? Is that what you call it now?" George chuckled and ducked behind Percy again, and once again Percy was hit with a spell and was on the ground now laughing hysterically. Everyone burst out laughing and Hermione said the counter jinx this time. Percy jumped up from the ground and began to chase George around the yard. Bill turned to Ginny and Harry chuckling.

"Actually, we were going to play a night game of Quidditch and we need two more. Percy and Hermione are both scared of heights, and Fleur isn't feeling well. How about it?" Harry and Ginny looked at each other and grinned.

"Well, it would be nice to be on a broom again, seeing as I lost my broom during the rescue from the Dursley's." Ginny, Ron and George looked at him in shock.

"You lost a Firebolt? How do you loose a Firebolt?" Ron asked with wide eyes.

"Well, seeing as how, I was trying to stay alive, and they had hit Hedwig with a killing curse I wasn't exactly worrying about my broom falling from the sidecar, _which_ had been blasted from the bike, with me in it, falling from the sky." Harry hadn't told anyone about what had happened that night except for the details needed.

"Harry, we figured something had happened to Hedwig, since she wasn't seen after that night. But why didn't you say anything about your broom?" Hermione asked him.

"Well, I figured that between Mad-Eye's death and George's ear, my broom being lost was the least of everyone's problem. Look, lets just forget about it, ok? It was almost a year ago, I honestly had forgotten about the broom till now. Why don't we just go play Quidditch, ok?" Harry stalked off towards the broom shed leaving the others behind. Ginny looked at the others and shrugged and went after her boyfriend.

"Well, you heard the man, let's play some Quidditch!" Ron shouted and everyone else ran for the shed. Soon, everyone who was playing was in the air, leaving Fleur, Hermione, and Percy on the ground to watch. Soon, Arthur and Molly joined them to watch the game.

"Ok, listen up, we have two teams, each team has three players. Since it's night no one would be able to see a snitch unless it was hitting them in the face, we'll forgo the Seeker position. I don't feel like being a beater tonight, so I'll be a chaser. Harry, I remember Oliver saying you hit a bludger through a target fifty feet away on your first try, so why don't you be a beater. Anyone want a particular position, say it now." Five minutes later positions were as is: Ron-Keeper, Bill- Keeper, Ginny-Chaser, George- Chaser, Harry-Beater, and Charlie-Beater.

"Ok, now that we have that settled," he glared at Charlie who had wanted to be Keeper instead of Bill and had held up the game. "We can choose captains. I personally think the Chasers should be captains since they fly around the most, does anyone second me?" Ginny said Aye, as did Harry. Everyone else nodded their heads just to get the game moving. "Ok, Captains let's pick our teams. Keepers first, I choose Bill."

"I guess that leaves me with Ron, I get to choose next though, I chose Harry as our beater," Ginny smiled.

"Well of course you'd pick him. Ickle boyfriend would be sad if you didn't. Ok, well that leaves me with Charlie then. Now team meeting to pick names!" The group broke up and got into their teams.

"Ok, Harry, Ron any name ideas?" Ginny said softly. Ron shrugged.

"I don't know, they're all older than us, how about the Youngins?" Harry laughed loudly and they hushed him.

"Ok, Ron, I like it. We're the Youngins. Team…Break!" They wandered back to the center of the field and met up with the older team.

"Ok, we noticed something while we were discussing, We are all older than you guys so we based out name on it. We are the Not-So-Youngins." Harry, Ginny, and Ron all stared at George open mouthed. "What? Surely we didn't take your name?" George smirked.

"You cheater, you know you didn't exactly take our name, but you couldn't come up with your own so you made a play off ours," Ginny pouted. Harry grinned.

"We're the Whippersnappers." Ron and Ginny grinned at him and the older brothers smiled.

"Ok, you whippersnappers. Let's get flying! Mum, Dad, you guys keep track of score. First team to a hundred wins, ok?" George yelled across the lawn and saw Arthur wave. Everyone mounted their brooms and flew into the air. Ron and Bill flew to their respective hoop, which was just muggle hoola-hoop's tied on a tree at each end of the field. Ginny and George shock hands and Percy threw the Quaffle into the air and the game began.

Ginny being a real chaser, was able to get the ball first and took off towards Bill. Harry, seeing Charlie aim the one Bludger at her, flew at top speed on his broom at him. Charlie not expecting a full on charge missed the ball and nearly dove out of Harry's way. Harry took the advantage and hit the Bludger at Bill and missed but only because Bill saw it coming and swerved. Bill's swerve gave Ginny the opening she needed and Team Whippersnapper drew first blood.

"Wow, Harry, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you actually played Beater," George yelled. Harry smirked and shouted back.

"Well, I wish I could say the same but you obviously aren't Chaser material!" George gave a mock offended face and dove for the Quaffle. Ginny who was laughing didn't see him dive in time and wasn't able to reach the red ball in time. The game was back on.

George dove and flew at the brooms top speed at Ron, who huffed and stood his ground. Harry gained possession of the Bludger and hit it towards George who ducked it and kept flying. Charlie nabbed the black ball and hit it towards Ron, trying to do the same thing Harry had done to Bill, but Ron, being a fairly experienced Keeper, knew that trick. Ron flew backwards a short ways and reached out and caught the Bludger as it whizzed passed, and at the same time George threw the Quaffle towards the ring. Ron reached the Bludger out and Deflected the red ball away from the ring, effectively blocking the ring.

"How the bloody hell did you catch that ball with out breaking something?" Charlie shouted.

"Believe me, my hand hurts pretty badly right now. It's not a move I do a lot. But it works," Ron shouted back.

The game went on for another hour and was at 90-80 in favor of the Not-So-Youngins. Ginny called for a time out and Harry and Ron flew to meet her near their hoop.

"Ok, here's what I think we should do…" Ginny started, but Harry stopped her and pointed towards the other team and then at the ground where they could see a thin, long string.

"_Muffliato._ There now they can't hear us," Harry grinned. Ron chuckled when they heard groans from the other side.

"Ok, so here's what we should do. Let them get the ball, and when they get close to Ron, we execute the…Whippersnapper charge," Ginny giggled. "Hopefully George will be surprised by all three of us flying at him and he'll drop the Quaffle I'll dive for it and go for Bill. Ron, you'll have to turn back and get back to the goal just in case. If this works we'll be tied. Harry after this you be the best damn beater ever and try and take out Bill or George. I'll say when we start to charge, Harry when you see me following George towards Ron head that way fast. Ok? Hands in." They all placed their hands in a circle and all three shouted, "Whippersnappers!" The game commenced.

Ginny and George hovered in the middle of the field and Percy once again threw the ball up, Ginny flew forward and convincingly missed the ball and George zoomed off towards Ron. Harry, seeing that their plan was underway, headed closer to Ron. Ginny saw that her team was in position, turned and faced George and shouted "Go!" Ron, Harry, and Ginny all flew at George. George, shocked for a second, saw that Ron had left the Goal. He kept flying at the trio and at last second dove under them. Ron knew what had happened only a second before the one-eared red-head dove. Ron did a magnificent back flip in order to try and out fly George to his goal. George was a mere yard in front of Ron when he shot and Ron yelled as he dove for the goal. The group on the ground all stood up and watched as the ball soared straight through the center of the goal.

"Yeah! We Won! We won! Team Not-So-Youngins! Woo-hoo!" George was screaming and flying towards Bill and Charlie who had stopped moving in order to see the trio charge their chaser. When they realized that they were the winners they flew to the ground and did a happy dance together, while the Whippersnappers landed, looking defeated.

"Awe, did you three really think that silly little ploy would work on me? I've been playing Quidditch since before you were in school!" George taunted with a smile on his face. Bill and Charlie plopped down on the ground.

"Well, I'm wiped out. I haven't played in a long time. Guess I'm a bit out of shape," Bill sighed.

"No kidding, I'm knackered. It's been way too long since I played," Charlie groaned. Everyone laughed and headed inside.

"Why don't we have some desert before bed, ok?" Mrs. Weasley said as she headed towards the house. Inside everyone was treated to a large piece of chocolate cake and a tall icy glass of milk. After the cake was devoured, everyone said goodnight and went to their separate rooms.

* * *

Bill was just putting his pants on a chair by the desk when Fleur came into the room from the bathroom. He hugged her and kissed his before they both climbed into bed and said _Nox_. Bill sighed and cuddled next to his wife.

"Bill? Can we talk for moment?" Fleur said softly. He sat up and whispered _Lumos_.

"What is it, dear?" She looked into his eyes and smiled.

"I have a secret," she giggled. He raised his eyebrows and played along.

"What kind of secret?" he asked.

"Guess," she smiled innocently.

"Um, you…want to move back to France?" he guessed the wildest thing he could think of. She shook her head.

"Erm, you want to fool around?" he asked playfully. She mock gasped and in a fake stern voice said, "Mister Weasley, you are incorrigible. No, that is not the answer. Guess again," she smiled devilishly.

"Um, I don't know, what?" Bill gave up. She pouted for a moment and then smiled. She wiggled her pointer finger to get him to lean in.

"I'm pregnant," she whispered in his ear. He sat back with wide eyes and gaping mouth. She giggled and placed his hand on her flat stomach. He looked from her eyes to his hand and back to her face.

"P-Pregnant? Like, as in, with a…_baby_ pregnant? When, h-how?" she put a finger to his lips to quiet him.

"I am pregnant, yes, as in with a baby. Do you remember when Fred…Fred's spirit came to say goodbye?" He nodded as tears welled up in his eyes. "Well, he whispered in my ear that I was about two weeks pregnant. Not even enough for me to notice. He asked that I wait until after his funeral to tell anyone." She smiled at her husband and he smiled back.

"A baby. Our baby. We…we're going to be parents. We're going to be parents!" Bill was steadily getting louder so Fleur hushed him.

"Bill, I would like to keep it a secret for at least another week. Veela's first trimester of pregnancy can be very tricky. Is that okay with you?" She looked up at him with puppy dog eyes and pouty lips that he could just not say no too.

"Ok, but only for a week, alright?" She nodded. "I can't believe we're going to be parents! I wonder what it'll be, boy or girl. Probably a boy." He looked out in space daydreaming about their child.

"Oh? What if it's a girl? Would you be disappointed?" Fleur frowned. Bill looked over at her in surprise.

"No! I would love a girl, it's just that, well, Ginny has been the only Weasley girl born in a few generations. It's pretty rare for a Weasley to have a girl. But I would love a girl all the same," Bill explained surprised. They sat up and talked about the baby for a while then happily went to sleep in each others arms.

* * *

Over the next week, plans were made for the four teens to travel to Australia to find Hermione's parents and then to find Harry's relatives. Mr. Weasley got permission for an international Portkey to and from Australia from Kingsley. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny spent some time getting Grimmauld Place ready for guests. Kingsley and McGonagall had come by the Burrow and talked to Harry about his relatives. He now knew that they had been taken to Minnesota in the USA. It was a semi-remote place, small suburb type of town. Vernon and Petunia had both been set up with jobs and Dudley was going to a local high school. Their house on Privet Drive had been sealed off and was awaiting them to return. Harry and his friends planned on settling the Granger's down in Grimmauld place and then leaving for America the next day. They would spend a week in Minnesota, letting the Dursley's pack up their belongings and finish work and school before Portkeying back to Privet Drive where the four would apparate back to Grimmauld Place. Plans set, the four spent the week of mourning and relaxing as best they could.

A/N: Well, ch. 12 was a hard one to write and I'm experiencing a little writers block, so the updates will still be coming, they just might be a little farther in between. I wanted Fred's funeral to be a little lighthearted the last two chapters had some pretty big tear jerkers in them so I left the teary-ness out of this one. How did I do on the Quidditch? I'm not a sporty person so I'm not sure how I did there. Review people! It means so much to hear what others think.


	10. Sweetest Flower That Grows

Disclaimer: All hail JKR! Bow down to her greatness and let her creation fill you with joy! I do not own HP or BSB.

**_Sweetest Flower That Grows_**

Harry was currently sitting in Grimmauld Places living room, drinking tea and chatting with the Minister of Magic, the Headmistress of Hogwarts, and Mr. Weasley. They were discussing the matter of the Dursleys.

"Well Harry, from our records in the Order I see that your relatives were sent to a small town in the state of Minnesota, in the United States. It's a small town with several wizarding families that are watching over your family. Dudley Dursley has been attending the local public school, while Vernon and Petunia are working at local businesses. The house on Privet Drive has been secured and spelled to keep intruders out. I would suggest that you take a few hours before you leave and clean it up. After being empty for a year it is sure to need a good cleaning," Professor McGonagall said.

"I will make sure that Mafalda Hopkirk is notified that there will be magic in the area of Privet Drive for that day only. If you apparate to Arabella Figg's house it will not set the triggers and notify anyone," Kingsley spoke up. Harry sipped his tea and thought to himself for a moment.

"Are the customs and laws very different in the States? Should we be aware of anything of that sort?" he asked the Minister.

"Well, as for all countries, yes, they do have different laws and customs. I do not think you need to worry too much. Minnesota, from what I've heard, is pretty lenient with foreign wizards. If I'm not mistaken, their laws are similar to ours, so you should be able to just stick to our laws and be fine. I do know that drinking age is different there, you must be twenty-one to drink." Harry looked shocked.

"Really, they have to wait so long? Not that I plan on drinking again any time soon. I thought that wizards followed their own age limits. Like we become of age at seventeen, while muggles have to wait another year. Why do the States follow Muggle laws like that?" Harry looked at them quizzically.

"Well, in the USA, there aren't as many wizards. Well, I shouldn't say that, there is probably the same amount as here in London, but since it's such a large country they're so spread out it just seems like less. But since they have so few in certain areas, the wizard community areas are for basic needs only. No pubs or frivolous stores so wizards are forced to mingle with the muggles if they want to go out for the night. So, wizards have to follow the same rules as the muggles for certain things." Mr. Weasley looked proud of himself for knowing the answer. Harry thought for a minute.

"What day are you going to tell the MLE that we'll be in Surrey?" Kingsley thought for a moment.

"You plan on leaving for Australia in three days? How about tomorrow? That way you all have a day to pack afterwards. Does that work?" Harry nodded and added, "And we can work on this place today." At that moment Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Percy, and George walked in.

"So, what's the plan?" Ron asked as he plopped down onto a sofa. Hermione frowned at him and gracefully sat next to him. Ginny sat down next to Harry while George and Percy sat on another sofa.

"Well, you guys showed up just in time. We are going to work on this place today and get it ready for Hermione's parents, then tomorrow we are going to clean Privet Drive. That will leave us a day to pack and finish any cleaning we didn't have time for. Does that sound good?" The others nodded and conversation turned to their trip to Australia.

"Now, when you leave on the eleventh, you will be traveling by portkey to a safe place near a small wizarding town several kilometers southwest of Sydney. You four know your plans from there right?" Mr. Weasley looked at his youngest children and their mates who all nodded their affirmation. "Ok, well the portkey will leave at precisely ten pm. Due to the time differences you will arrive in Australia at nine am. It will return exactly a week later. So you all, the Grangers too, must be touching it at ten pm on the seventeenth and you will arrive here at nine am on the seventeenth. So really you'll only have six days in Australia and you'll be loosing a few hours of sleep. If you aren't touching it when it returns you will be stuck in Australia for several days until we can get another portkey to get you out. It will return you here to Grimmauld Place."

For the next hour, they all spent reviewing the plans. After a final cup of tea, the Minister and Mr. Weasley went back to the ministry, and McGonagall went back to Hogwarts leaving the young people to clean for the rest of the day.

Harry and Ginny were cleaning the kitchen together while Ron and Hermione cleaned the bedroom and bathroom that her parents would be using for their time there. Percy and George were cleaning other rooms such as the Sitting room and Drawing room. Harry had called Kreacher to cook their lunch and clean other bedrooms to be used after their return from the States.

Harry had bought a muggle radio while he was on his way to the house earlier that day and had it tuned into a teen pop station and as a result he and Ginny were spending more time dancing and goofing off than cleaning. They had been mopping the floor when a song came on that Harry knew from the summer before. It had been on the radio constantly and he knew almost all the words. He was in a playful mood and so he grabbed a scrub brush they used for scrubbing the floor and pretended it was a microphone. He danced in front of Ginny with his back to the door.

"Everybod-ay-ah, rock your bod-ay-ah. Everybod-ay-ah, rock you bod-ay right. Backstreets back all right!" Ginny was laughing pretty hard by this time, and Harry had not noticed the small audience he had behind him who had come in quietly. He had never acted like this in front of anyone before and Ginny was surprised at how good of a singer Harry was. He danced along while singing loudly into the scrub brush. "Oh my god, we're back again, brothers, sisters everybody sang! Gonna bring the flavor show ya how. Gotta question for ya better answer now. Am I original? Yeah! Am I the only one? Yeah! Am I sexual?"

At the last line Harry had swung his hips and thrust them forward. Everyone behind Harry burst out laughing and he spun around slipping on the wet floor and landing on his butt in a puddle of soapy water. He instantly became redder than any Weasley blush and hid his face behind Ginny. Ron, Hermione, and George were all laying on the ground panting for breath while Percy was holding himself up by the door frame. Ginny was laughing very hard, and still trying to get Harry to come out from behind her.

"Come on Harry, finish the song!" Ron and George were cat calling between hysterics.

"Harry I didn't know you liked Backstreet Boys." Hermione had calmed down a little and was not sitting on the floor any longer.

"Oh, Harry, you're so sexual!" George shouted in a girl voice while Ron thrust his hips like Harry had done. They collapsed on top of each other laughing harder than they had in years.

"I am so embarrassed," Harry mumbled turning, if possible, even redder. Ginny giggled and hugged him.

"Come on Harry," she whispered. "You got George to laugh, he hasn't laughed much in the last few days, and any laughs he has had are forced and fake. He hasn't laughed like this since before Bill's wedding."

He looked up and saw George's old smile and smiled to himself despite the fact that he and Ron were still laughing quite hard. Ron and George saw him look up and proceeded to beg him to sing some more. He shook his head and they begged more which he flat out refused.

They all sat and listened to a few more songs while they ate a lunch that Kreacher had prepared earlier. Each new song that came on Harry was teased and begged to sing for them again which he firmly refused. After lunch they all went back to cleaning up their areas with no more mishaps. Harry and Ginny were cleaning up the kitchen after lunch and Harry was softly humming to himself.

"Harry, I didn't know that you had such a nice singing voice." Harry blushed and Ginny giggled. She went over and hugged him. He hugged her back and began swaying to the slow music of My Wild Irish Rose. Harry softly sang along to the song in her ear.

"My wild Irish rose, sweetest flower that grows. You may search everywhere, but none can compare, to my wild Irish rose." Ginny sighed in his ear and smiled.

They spent the remainder of the day, after the house was clean for habitation once more, listening to music in the drawing room and talking. Percy had left earlier to visit with his girlfriend Penny. Ron, Harry, and George had retreated to a corner, and Ginny and Hermione sat and talked about what they thought the guys were up too.

"George, I had an idea after I got over my mortification of everyone seeing me singing. What do you think of a new invention that makes people sing a song against their will?" George and Ron grinned.

"Well, I like the idea, I like it a lot. What kind of songs were you thinking of?" George had the business gleam in his eyes now. He conjured up a few pieces of parchment and ink and a quill to take notes.

"Well, normal songs I guess. I hadn't really thought that far." Harry looked over at the girls. "Should we tell the girls about this?" Ron and George glanced over at them too. The girls noticed the movement and grew concerned that they were soon to be the object of a prank. The guys waved them over and they shared a glance before getting up and walking over.

"Yes?" Ginny and Hermione stayed a safe distance.

"Well, we were just discussing a new prank idea and thought we'd ask you lovely ladies to sit with us and converse ideas with." George said as he stood and offered his seat to Hermione. Hermione looked at Ginny.

"Er, well, I guess we could assist you." She slowly walked over to the couch and sat down carefully. Harry and Ron watched her confused as to why she was acting so wary. Ginny moved and stood near Hermione.

"What's wrong with you two?" Ron asked.

"Nothing, we're just a little worried that you're about to prank us." Hermione narrowed her eyes and the guys laughed.

"No, believe me, we know better than to prank you two when it's only the five of us here. We wouldn't be leaving the building intact. Nope, we were going to ask you to help us with an idea Harry had. He came up with the idea of a new invention. Candy, or something else, that makes you sing. What do you think?" George watched the girls share a glance and then smirk.

"Does this idea have anything to do with your show from earlier Harry?" Hermione chuckled when Harry rolled his eyes.

"Er, well yeah. Anyways, what do you guys think?" Harry watched Ginny and Hermione as they thought it over. When he knew George wasn't looking he poked Ginny and nodded towards George. She got the hint as her eyes widened.

"I love it! What kind of songs were you guys thinking?" Ginny nudged Hermione as they saw Georges eyes light up. For the next hour they came up with songs both magic and muggle before having to leave for dinner at the Burrow.

* * *

Later that night Harry was laying in bed tying to sleep with Ron's increasingly deafening snores. He sighed and sat up contemplating throwing his pillow at Ron but thought better of it. Last time he'd done that Ron rolled over in his sleep and Harry lost his pillow for the night. Half an hour later he sighed and stood up. He grabbed his pillow and blanket and headed for the sofa. _I don't remember him ever being this loud at night,_ Harry thought to himself as he marched down the stairs. He arrived in the living room only to find the couch occupied by a stocky, red-head with one ear. George was sitting propped up on a pillow, his knees to his chest, and was writing furiously in a small notebook. A floorboard shifted under Harry and George looked up.

"Harry! What are you doing up?" Harry wandered into the room and sat down in a chair opposite George. In the dying firelight George looked emaciated and weary, but he decided not to say anything about it.

"Ron was snoring too loud, and I couldn't sleep anyways." Harry paused and watched as George wrote another line and looked back up. They sat together for a while in comfortable silence. Harry was watching the stars out of the window, thinking of Ginny, Teddy, and Teddy's parents. Harry was worried that he wouldn't be a good Godfather to Teddy. He was also thinking of the offer Andromeda had made to him about living with her for the summer and helping take care of Teddy. Harry knew it would be a good chance to get to know them both and he wouldn't have to live in Grimmauld Place alone or live off the Weasley's good charity all summer either. He could pay rent to Andromeda so she had extra money coming in so he wouldn't have to worry about her not being able to afford things for the child. Harry's mind drifted for a long while in this area of thought.

George would start writing again every few minutes. A few times chuckling softly with a sad look on his face while writing. After a half an hour of sitting in silence, broken only by George's quill and the distant sound of Bill, Charlie, Percy, and Ron's snoring. George cleared his throat and Harry looked over at him.

"Harry, I want to say thanks. If anyone else had come down here and saw how I look, they would have been asking me if I was alright or giving me concerned glances the whole time. You…you just sit with me. You're a good friend Harry." Harry smiled and George wrote something else down.

"I don't ask because it's a stupid question and I know the answer. Of course you're not alright. To have someone so close to you…leave so suddenly…That, and I've been asked so many times before I know how irritating it can get. Sometimes, after Sirius died, I just wanted someone to sit with. Someone who wouldn't ask questions or tell me it would be alright, because I knew eventually it would be alright again. I would wander around looking for company and once I had it I wanted to be alone. Hell, it's happened to me so many times I should be used to it now. The thing is, I just know how to hide it better." Harry sighed and looked back out the window. "I know you know what I mean, I can see it in your eyes during the day. You're trying to put on a happy face for everyone, show that you're ok, which in reality you're not. Losing someone so close to you leaves a hole, the closer they are to you the harder it is for that hole to heal. It takes a long time, but eventually the hole gets smaller, and with time, you forget the hurt." Harry was watching out the window and was startled to hear George sniff. When he looked over he saw tears rolling down George's face while he nodded.

"Sometimes I…I hate him for leaving me. Then, I hate myself, because I realize that he didn't want to leave and I shouldn't hate him for it but I do, I still do." George sobbed for a full minute before he could speak again. "Am I going crazy? Is what I'm feeling normal Harry? Am I a horrible person? Did you hate Cedric and Sirius and Dumbledore? Do you hate Remus and Tonks?" George was pleading with Harry. Harry was finding it hard to breathe and had to keep blinking back the tears.

"Yes," he whispered. "I hated them all for leaving. But I think the one that hurt the most was Sirius. He was supposed to be there for me when I graduated, we were going to be a family, live together. He was going to tell me about my parents and the marauders. Sometimes when I think back to it all, I still feel angry, but thankfully I no longer hate him for it. That part goes away eventually. As for Remus and Tonks, yeah, I'm a little angry with them. Their son now has to live a life without his parents there for him. I know how it is growing up an orphan, to think that Teddy has to live that life now, is…difficult for me to accept. In one night I went from teenager to adult with parental responsibilities to my godson, and in the same night a little boy lost his parents. It's a big leap. So yeah, I feel anger towards them." Harry sighed, and George mimicked him. "Are you writing about Fred?" Harry asked quietly. George nodded.

"Yeah. You were right, it does help. I haven't been able to sleep very well lately, so I spend the night writing until I fall asleep. I've been spending the night down here lately because my quill woke Charlie up the other night. It also…it feels weird sleeping in a room without him. I mean, in our flat above the store we had our own rooms, but here we always shared and being here and not sharing with him just doesn't feel right." He sighed and rested his head against the back of the sofa. Soon, George was writing again and Harry was watching out the window once more. Soon they were both sleeping and curled up on each side of the sofa.

* * *

Early the next morning Harry was shaken awake by small hands. He leaned over and remembered the night before just as he fell off the sofa and onto the feet of the person shaking him. Ginny burst out laughing as Harry flailed about trying to untangle himself. When he was untangled and sitting upright he looked around and noticed George sitting up and smiling at him, chuckling at Harry's misfortune.

"Good morning, Harry!" Ginny giggled as Harry moved to get off the floor and groaned at the bruise forming on his backside.

"Yeah, good morning to you too. Ugh, so that's why I don't like sleeping on the sofa," Harry groaned louder as he stretched his arms up over his head. Ginny grinned and leaned over and began to tickle Harry mercilessly. He laughed and tried to stop her. In the attempt to stop her he backed away and fell backwards over the end table. Ginny gasped and rushed around it to see if he was hurt. George watched with a wary eye. Suddenly, Ginny yelped and began giggling loudly. Harry had begun tickling her back.

"Ok, ok, I give, you win! Harry stop, that tickles! Stop, please!" Harry was grinning like the Cheshire cat as he stood up and pulled Ginny to her feet.

"Ok, but I want a rematch where there isn't any furniture to fall over later. Got it?" Ginny grinned and nodded. "So why did you wake me up so early, not that my neck doesn't thank you." They sat down and Ginny cuddled up in Harry's blanket with him.

"Well, I heard someone come down here late last night. I was wondering if they were still down here. Also, Hermione decided that we needed an early start today. She's upstairs waking up Ron, when we saw that you weren't there I came down looking for you." George had picked up his muggle notebook and quill and was writing another memory down. "George, are you going to come with us today to clean Privet Drive?" George finished his sentence and looked up.

"Well, I'm not sure. I was actually thinking of checking everything at the shop today. When we went there before the memorial, everything was torn apart and thrown around the place. I need to get out from mum's grasp for a while anyways. I thought I'd work on cleaning up the shop and the flat a little. Fred wouldn't have wanted me to let our dream go to waste just because he died. In fact, I think I'm going to head up and shower before breakfast. Good morning, and thanks for waking me up again Gin-gin." George left the room, leaving Harry and Ginny curled up together.

"Did he talk to you last night Harry? We're all so worried about him. He won't talk to anyone, and if we try to get him to talk he leaves the room or walks away. I see the sadness in his eyes and it makes me want to hug him, but he won't let anyone touch him." Ginny had tears in her eyes and was hugging Harry very tightly.

"Gin, I need air," she loosened her grip but didn't let go. "Yes, I talked to him, well, more like let him talk to me. He just needs time Ginny. We all do. Do you remember when Cedric died and I spent the next year in a bad mood?" She nodded. "Well, that was the first time, that I could remember at least, that I had ever had someone I knew die, and the fact that it happened right in front of me didn't help much either. But, my bad mood was my way of grieving. I'm not saying that it was the best way, but it was the only way I was able to cope. It didn't help that everyone was asking me if I was ok, or constantly watching me and leaving me out of everything for my own good. All I needed was someone to be there for me and act normal around me, to not treat me like I was fragile. All I wanted was for life to go back to normal around me. That's what George needs right now. I know it's hard, and you want to tell him it will be alright, but for now…just don't. It's not what he needs to hear." Harry stopped and looked into her eyes which were watering.

"What did you guys talk about last night?" she asked quietly.

"I can't tell you that, Gin. George trusts me to just be there for him, when all he needs is for someone to listen if he feels the need to talk."

"But what if—"

"I'll tell someone if it sounds like he's getting too depressed. For now, he's just…let's just say, after Sirius died, I read a book about death and grief. George is in the early stages of grief and it's going to take a long time for him to recover, for all of us to recover, but what he's feeling is normal. Just be reassured that at least he's talking to someone, alright?" Ginny nodded and hugged him.

Then she giggled and said, "I'm telling Hermione that you read a book." He mock gasped and claimed betrayal. They chuckled and she snuggled her head into his neck and kissed his Adams apple. He kissed the top of her head and they say that way until Mrs. Weasley came downstairs to make breakfast.

Harry had almost fallen back to sleep when Ginny jumped up and scooted away, jarring him from his partial sleepiness. He mumbled his confusion and looked up to see Mrs. Weasley walk around the corner. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Harry and Ginny sitting together on a sofa covered in blankets and pillows. Ginny saw her mother puff up and ready herself for a good yelling.

"Good morning mum! Hermione and I decided that we needed an early start today, so we went to wake the boys and I discovered that Harry couldn't sleep with Ron's ungodly snoring and slept down here last night. We really need to put Harry either in his own room, or put up a silencing spell around Ron's bed." Mrs. Weasley un-puffed and blinked.

"Oh, well, I think a silencing spell would be best for now with so many back in the house. You two should get ready, breakfast should be ready in a half an hour. Good morning to you too, Ginny dear. And you too Harry, good morning." Mrs. Weasley turned and went to the kitchen after giving them a knowing look. Harry and Ginny both breathed a sigh of relief.

"Quick thinking Ginny. Well, I'm going to take a shower. I hope Hermione's done waking Ron." They both smirked as they headed up the stairs. As Harry neared Ron's room, he walked loudly across the floor. When he got to the door, it opened on it's own and Hermione walked out slightly ruffled and red-faced.

"Good morning Harry! Is Ginny in her room? I'll just go down and see. Good morning!" Hermione blushed even redder and scurried away. Harry was chuckling as he entered the room, glancing warily towards Ron's side. Ron was sitting up, also slightly ruffled and red, with his shirt unbuttoned and open. Harry smirked.

"Well, good morning you git. I hope you slept well. Or should I say, woke up well?" Ron blushed, if possible, even more.

"Oh shut up Harry. Where were you? Not that I minded much," Ron mumbled as he stood up and began dressing. Harry re-made his bed and gathered clothes together to wear for the day.

"Well, seeing as how I couldn't sleep because your snoring was rattling the windowpanes over at the Lovegoods', I went to the living room to sleep on the sofa. Tonight, you're putting up a silencing charm around your bed. I can't spend another night on the couch, my neck will break."

Fifteen minutes later, Harry and Ron walked into the kitchen to smells of fresh muffins and bacon and eggs frying. The four of them decided to leave right after breakfast to Privet Drive and spend the day cleaning the house. Harry was feeling a little grumpy and had to bite back a few sarcastic remarks he wanted to say when Ron started complaining about how much cleaning they were doing. Ginny noticed Harry's increasing bad mood and steered the conversation away from cleaning. Later, when they were alone she confronted him about his mood.

"What was that all about Harry? You were getting pretty angry in there." They were walking outside waiting for Ron to finish eating.

"I just…never mind, its stupid." He scuffed his toe in the dirt and watched the ants run away from their feet.

"I'm sure it's not stupid, Harry. Let me decide that." Ginny cupped his chin and made him look into her eyes. He sighed.

"I just never thought I'd be back at that house. I thought I was done for good with them and their damn nosy neighbors. Now I have to go back there and clean it up. I spent so many years being their slave and cleaning every nook and cranny of it, and it never was good enough for them. When I left last year, I left and thought to myself, 'I'm never going to have to see that damn clone house again. I'm _done_ with it!' And now, I'm willingly going back there and to do what? Clean! I'm just frustrated because I know that in two weeks I have to spend more time with them insulting me and treating my friends like they're freaks." Harry breathed heavily and then sighed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to vent on you like that." They walked over and began feeding the chickens together.

"Harry, I'm your girlfriend, if you can't vent to me, who can you vent to? That's what makes a relationship work is communication, and part of communication is venting. So, next time you feel like you want to bite off someone's head, come to me and tell me about it. Okay?" Harry smiled and chucked his handful of feed into the fence. At the same moment Ron and Hermione came out and saw them walking back towards the house.

"Oi! Mum says we need to feed the chickens before we go." Ron called to them. They chuckled and she called back that they had already done it and they meet them there.

Harry held onto Ginny and they disappeared with a pop. They arrived in Mrs. Figg's living room startling the many cats. Mrs. Figg, hearing the three pops, came into the room.

"Harry! What are you doing here? I thought I'd never be seeing you in these parts again. You know your relatives aren't here right? Mr. Tibbles stop that hissing, they're visitors to this house and you will be nice!" Harry smiled as his eyes focused in the dim lighting. Mrs. Figg was as dependable as ever to never change. She was standing in front of them holding one cat and scolding another, while wearing her trusty carpet slippers and housecoat over her sweats.

"Actually, Mrs. Figg, I know they're not here. My friends and I are here to clean up number four and get it ready for them to return. It's good to see you again." The girls each had picked up a cat and was petting them and cooing into its ear. Ron had a look on his face like he wanted to open a window and let some fresh air into the stale environment. Mrs. Figg insisted they stay for a quick spot of tea and biscuits. They found no way to refuse so they all went to the kitchen and moved a few cats off the chairs and sat down for tea. Soon enough, or not so soon in Ron's case, they were saying their goodbyes and walking down the road.

"Oh, fresh air! I thought I was going to suffocate in there!" Ron was breathing deeply and wafting more air towards him.

"Ron, be quiet! What if she heard you?" Hermione whispered loudly.

"What, through an open window? 'Mione, I don't think she's opened a window in years. Did you _not_ smell it in there? If any house needs a good cleaning it was that one." Ginny giggled at her brother and started walking backwards.

"I don't know Ron, it was kind of cozy. A stiff breeze would have blown the smell away. The rest of the house was ok. I really liked the little black kitten, the one with the tiny tuft of white on its chin. It was so adorable! Did you see it Harry?" Harry smiled and nodded. Ginny was cute when she got like this. She rambled for the rest of the short walk about the kitten and how it had licked tea off her finger.

When they were in sight of number four Harry stopped. There was a scorch mark near the back yard and the whole yard was dead and scraggly. The garbage cans were knocked over and one turned into a burn barrel despite being plastic, so the bottom had melted and hardened into the ground. The garage door was tagged, probably by Dudley's own gang. The back yard, of what they could see was just as bad, if not worse, than the front. Harry moaned and Ron mimicked him. The girls just stared in shock. They all stood still for a moment until someone startled them out of their shock.

"No one knows what happened to them. They just disappeared one night, drove off and never returned." The older man talking to them seemed to be in his early fifties. He was walking his Airedale Terrier around the block. Harry recognized him as one of the neighbors who sneered at Harry and snubbed him whenever they saw him walk by. The type of person who, if they had kids, would have hurried them inside when Harry walked by their house. "Everyone around here thought you might have had something to do with them disappearing, since you seemed to have left the same night." The man looked at Harry warily as if Harry would have attacked him for even thinking bad things about him. Harry rolled his eyes.

"Well, I did leave, and I had intended to never come back. But I was asked to come and clean up the house for them, since they'll be returning in two weeks. My aunt had a sick relative in America and they went to stay with her until she died. Since she died, they'll be coming back now." The man glared at Harry, still wondering if he was telling the truth. Obviously he found nothing more to say to Harry about his relatives so he decided on a different tactic.

"Oh? Well, I don't see why they couldn't have you coming here to clean up and keep the yard at least looking a little alive. If they weren't going to be staying here, they should have rented it out. Now the whole neighborhood has gone down the drain, since the hoodlums stated hanging out and wreaking havoc there. Everyone else's property values have gone so far down, now anyone can just move in, and it's all your families fault." The man took a breath and was about to start in on another complaint but Harry cut him off.

"I'm really sorry, but I don't want to sit here and listen to you complain. If you don't like where the neighborhood is headed, you should have moved a long time ago. It's not my problem, and frankly, I don't care." Harry turned around and began walking to the house leaving the disgruntled man huffing and hewing about offensive minors. Ron and the others quickly followed.

"That was brilliant, mate! I was just about to say something to him myself, but you beat me to it. Brilliant!" Ron was smiling and not seeing the look on Harry's face.

"I hate this place. I hate it so much. Everyone thinks they're better than everyone else. They're all snobs," he seethed through his teeth. Harry stormed over to the front door. He noticed that as he got closer to the door, more and more neighbors were exiting their houses and watching him, not even bothering to hide their stares.

"What did you do with 'em? Huh, Potter? Where are they?" one woman shouted, others were nodding and beginning to shout also.

"You worthless hoodlum, go back to where you came from!" Harry had been expecting some response seeing as how he was hated by all the neighbors, but the other three were shocked that these supposedly upstanding citizens were cat calling and jeering at a young man who had never given them reason to hate him. Harry continued to the door but stopped when he heard Ginny yelling back.

"What did he do to you? Huh? He didn't do anything to any of you, so just shut your snobbish mouths! None of you have any right to call Harry names! Everything you think he is, he's the opposite! He is a great man, and if any of you have any decency in your bodies you'll all shut the bloody hell up and go back into your houses and mind your bloody business!" Harry was shocked that Ginny, his little Ginny, had stood up for him in front of all those strangers. They apparently were shocked as well. One man yelled back.

"What did you do with the Dursley's, boy? Where are they?" Ron was getting fed up and yelled back.

"They're in America you arse-hole! They had to go take care of a sick relative, and they'll be back in two weeks! Go to bloody hell! Come on Harry, lets go inside." The neighbors were surprised to hear another stranger yell back at them, and even more surprised to hear of the Dursley's immanent return. The four teens finally were able to open the door and get inside. Harry stormed inside and left them to close the door. He marched into the living room and promptly picked up the television and threw it at the brick fireplace. Ron and Hermione gasped at the look of rage on their friends face while Ginny ran to Harry's side and hugged his arms to his side and refused to let go until he calmed down. For several minutes, Ginny held Harry until he finally sighed and relaxed. She felt the change and slowly released his arms.

"Harry, you shouldn't let them get to you. If they knew the truth about you, they wouldn't say those things. They're just stupid, ignorant muggles. Are you feeling better?" he nodded and walked over to the mangled box of glass and wires. He waved his wand over the mess and it repaired itself. He picked it up and moved it back to its spot.

"Well, let's get cleaning. I want to get out of here as soon as possible." The others took Harry's lead and Hermione sent everyone in their own direction. There would be no fun and games during this day of cleaning. They agreed that Harry and Ron would take the upstairs and Ginny and Hermione the downstairs. After everyone was done they'd move outside and work on the yard. For three hours, they cleaned with little to no noise or interruptions. At quarter to noon, Harry called a local pizza pub and ordered take out to be delivered. When the pizzas arrived forty minutes later, Harry paid with a twenty pound note he found in his aunt's vanity.

"What did you call this Harry?" Ron asked skeptically picking up a large slice of Garbage Pizza.

"It's called pizza Ron. This kind is pepperoni, that's sausage, and that's garbage, which means a little bit of everything," Harry explained once more. Ron sniffed the slice and looked at Harry. It smelled great, but he was still dubious about the name.

"Oh, for heaven's sake Ron, it's not actually garbage, it's peppers and mushrooms, and olives, different meats, and onions. Trust me, you'll like it. Just try it," Hermione huffed. Ron made a face and shoved a tiny bite in his mouth. He chewed for what seemed like forever before grinning stupidly and shoving half the slice in his mouth and biting.

"Ooo, ere ight, 'Arry. Iss is ood!" Ron sprayed chunks of cheese and dough on Harry.

"Oh, jeez Ron, I asked for the news not the weather!" Harry grumbled loudly, though his grin betrayed his true feelings. Hermione looked green and Ginny was laughing with a large bite in her mouth.

"Huh? Wea-her? Wha?" Harry laughed at Ron's confusion.

"It's a muggle joke Ron, just never mind. Oh hey Ron, by the way, do you like seafood?" Harry shoved a large bite in his mouth and Hermione groaned. Ron swallowed and answered with a yes as he began to take a drink of soda. Hermione hid her face.

"See Food!" Harry laughed and opened his mouth wide to show the half eaten bite to Ron. Ron snorted and started choking as his Dr. Pepper went up his nose and across the table. Seeing Ron, jumping around shrieking about the burning in his sinus's, Ginny fell off her chair and was laughing very hard. Even Hermione began to laugh at her boyfriends misfortune. Harry was laughing very hard and trying not to choke on the food in his mouth when, SPLAT! A big, gooey slice of pepperoni landed square in his chest. Everyone shut up quickly and watched the slice of pizza slide down Harry's shirt and plop onto the newly washed floor. Harry looked up at Ron to see him smirking. Harry grinned an evil grin and they both yelled, "FOOD FIGHT!" Ginny and Hermione both screamed and dove under the table, yelling at the boys about how long it took to clean the kitchen. The boys started picking up the closest piece of food and chucking it at the other. Soon the white kitchen was covered in red pizza sauce and cheese was dripping from the walls. Mushrooms and olives were squished underfoot, and meat and triangles of doughy crust were stuck to the ceiling. Harry and Ron stood in the center laughing and slipping on the slippery floors.

"Uh, mate, I think we just wasted a lot of food." Ron said and then suddenly slipped and fell to the floor. Harry was laughing very hard.

"I know, mate, but you don't know how long I've wanted to do that in here! Oh, the only thing that would make this better is seeing my aunts face if she saw this." Picturing Petunia's face made Harry laugh even harder which caused him to loose balance and fall next to Ron. From the vantage point of being on the ground they could see Hermione and Ginny sitting under the table with a full box of pepperoni pizza, eating and glaring at the boys.

"Uh, Harry, I think we're in trouble," Ron whispered to Harry. Harry nodded and scooted forward towards the girls. He got close enough and tried to grab a slice of pizza from the box but had his hand slapped away. Ron snickered.

"Don't you dare, Harry James Potter!" Harry and Ron both winced at hearing the dreaded full name. "We spent over an hour cleaning this kitchen and now we'll be lucky it's not stained red forever! Not only that, but you just wasted two large pizza's and Hermione and I had to sit under the table while we ate! You and my idiot brother are going to clean this room spotless if you ever expect anything from us! Now get to it!" Harry and Ron started to stand and promptly fell to their bums. Harry sheepishly looked over at Ginny who was still glaring at him. He pulled out his wand and mumbled _Evanesco_ and stood up on the clean, but red, floor. Ron stood also and began picking up nearly full pieces of the pies and putting them in the boxes on the table. Occasionally taking a bite off the ones that were the cleanest. Harry started mumbling cleaning spells and aiming them at the floor until they only slightly had a hint of pink in the right light, and then began on the walls. Hermione and Ginny crawled out from under the table and sat down. They munched on their safe box of pizza and watched the boys sulk as they cleaned. By the time they had picked the last piece of sausage off the ceiling fan, their stomachs were growling and they had definitely learned their lesson. They all sat at the table and ate in silence the girls still angry at the boys. The silence was deafening until, Splat! A large piece of pizza landed smack in the center of the table. They all stared at it and then looked up at the ceiling. They saw a red triangle in the center of the ceiling fan above the table where the piece of pie had been. No one said anything for a moment until Hermione snickered which caused the other three to burst out laughing.

After the rest of the pizza was eaten, they split up again and went to finish cleaning. Hermione yelled up the stairs to ask Harry where the vacuum was and he yelled under the stairs. She and Ginny walked into the hallway to retrieve the vacuum and opened the cupboard. Ginny and Hermione both gasped realizing what this tiny room was. Ginny immediately had tears in her eyes as she thought of little Harry sleeping and being locked in this tiny cupboard for 10 long years. She ducked down and crawled in, her small frame barely fitting inside. Hermione was staring at the room with shock.

"It's…so small," she whispered. Ginny looked over at Hermione and gasped. Hermione crouched down and followed Ginny's gaze and she too gasped and tears flooded her eyes as well. There on the wall above the door, where Vernon or Petunia wouldn't see if he happened to glance in were the words written in a child's scrawl, Harry James Potter was here. Next to it was a crude drawing of a birthday cake with eight red and two green candles on top and the initials HJP on the side.

The girls held each other as they cried. Eventually, Harry noticed that he had not heard the vacuum come on and went looking to see if they had found it or not. He and Ron walked down the stairs and saw the cupboard door open and legs sticking out of it, they heard sniffling and rushed don the stairs to find Hermione and Ginny both staring at the small area and crying. Ron rushed forward to find out why they were crying but Harry stopped in his tracks a horrified look on his face. The girls pointed to an area above the door, so he bent over and looked in. When he gasped Harry remembered the day he wrote the words there.

He had been punished for taking too long cooking the bacon and letting it burn. He was eight years old, and it was his birthday. For his punishment he was locked in his cupboard with no breakfast and left there for thirty-six hours. He had felt a little defiant after about twelve hours and decided that the area above the door was a safe place that his mean uncle wouldn't see ever so that's where he chose to graffiti the wall. He had stolen a broken red crayon from his cousin's room when he was forced to clean it the day before. He scrawled his name and the words 'was here!' next to it and then decided that since he wasn't going to get a real birthday cake he would draw one. He counted eight red lines for candles on top and over the next two birthdays added a candle for each birthday.

It had been so many years since he had been in that cupboard that he had completely forgotten his masterpiece. He hadn't thought about sending Hermione to get the vacuum from the cupboard when he told her where it was, now he regretted his lapse in memory. He looked at his feet and turned away from his friends and walked away. They called after him and scrambled to escape the horror of a closet to follow him. He headed to the living room and sat down on the sofa and waited for them to arrive.

The all rushed into the room and saw him sitting, the sat down with him and waited. After a few minutes he recalled the story to them. The girls sat on either side of him and held his hand. Ron sat in a chair opposite him with watery eyes. When he finished they sat in silence for several long minutes. Ron was steadily getting angrier and redder so he stood and began to pace. Then he did the only thing he could think of, he picked up the television and threw it at the fireplace. The crash broke the girls out of their reverie.

"How could they? YOU WERE A CHILD! HOW COULD THEY? Those monsters are going to get a piece of my mind when I see them. Oh, boy, are they going to regret how they treated you! And you! Harry, why didn't you tell us it was that bad? You could have told an official and they would have been take to prison! They need to rot in hell for all eternity!" Ron screamed and continued to destroy the knick-knacks on the wall. Hermione was crying and Ginny was watching Harry's face.

"Harry? What else happened? What else aren't you telling us? Did he beat you? Please, tell me Harry," Ginny whimpered. Harry finally looked at her. He ignored Hermione and Ron's ranting and spoke only to Ginny.

"Uncle Vernon never really beat me, he'd push me around and pull me by my ear or hair to my cupboard and shove me in, but he never really hit me. He left that to Dudley and his gang. Since I was able to walk, Dudley chased me around the house and yard. When he'd have friends over they'd join him. They called it Harry Hunting. Most of what Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia did was emotional abuse. Calling me worthless and stupid. A bastard, telling me that my parents were worthless drunks. It was probably worse what they did. The lasting damage they caused is much deeper than simple bruises and cuts. I remember when I brought home my first grade report card, I had all A's and B's. I showed it to my aunt thinking that maybe I'd get a treat for doing so well, like Dudley got. She took one look at it and tore it in half, and called me a bragger. That if I was going to try and make her Dinky-diddidums feels stupid, I'd be locked in my cupboard all summer with no food. I was scared and humiliated and never showed her my report cards again. She still found them and yelled at me for outshining her darling, sweet, smart child, or worse accused me of cheating. She never let me forget that she thought Dudley was better than me. That kind of treatment for so long…well, if you're told something for long enough you begin to believe it." Hermione and Ron had sat back down and were watching Harry with pity. He saw this and got angry. "This is why I didn't tell you, because I knew you would look at me like that, with pity. I don't need your pity, ok, I turned out just fine. It doesn't matter that the only thing I have ever wanted was their love. It doesn't matter that every time they hurt me and locked me away, I thought 'Maybe next time I'll do good enough that they'll love me.' I don't care, ok, it's all behind me now. After I get them back here I never have to see them again. Okay? So stop looking at me like that and get back to cleaning. We need to finish that yard still before we can go." With that Harry stormed outside and started weeding the garden with fury, as if every weed had personally offended him. With in minutes he was crying and frantically pulling whatever he touched out of the ground and throwing it away from him. The girls and Ron watched him from the kitchen, they were all crying and holding each other. After a few minutes of this Ron and Hermione decided that they'd vacuum so the inside would be finished and Ginny would go and comfort Harry. Ginny walked outside and over to Harry's hunched form.

"Harry?" she inched forward. "Harry? Please look at me." She knelt down beside him and placed her arm over his shoulder. He leaned into her and sobbed.

"Why Ginny? Why did they hate me? What did I ever do to them? I was a baby, how could I do anything to them? Why did they treat me like a slave for so long? Why?" He sobbed into her shoulder and she rocked him like a child. "All I ever wanted was a real family. Someone who would love me for who I was and not what I was. Someone who wouldn't judge me for my parents actions. Ten years! Ten bloody years I lived here and not once did I hear, 'I love you Harry,' or 'You're a good boy Harry.' You want to know why I didn't tell anyone? I did tell someone! I told my Principal at my school, and you know what he said? He told me to stop lying and trying to get my good, upstanding family in trouble! 'They took you in when they didn't need too and fed and clothed you, why would you feel the need to get them in trouble?' he asked me. Then he told me that I was an ungrateful little attention seeker who needed to be punished! That's why I didn't tell anyone else, I didn't feel the need to be told that I was seeking attention like that. I didn't need to be called a delinquent." Harry was shaking and sobbing in her arms and she held him and let him cry. After he was done and was sitting up and staring at the mess he caused of the garden, he chuckled.

"Well, I made a complete fool of myself. Oh, what must the neighbors think," he asked sarcastically and began laughing. Ginny stared at him worrying for his sanity. He calmed down fairly quickly and sighed. "Well, we better finish this. Where are Ron and Hermione?"

"Inside, they're finishing up in there and then they'll come out and help with the yard." Harry nodded and heaved himself to his feet and helped Ginny to hers. He walked to the shed and went in to look for grass seed and the hedge clippers. He rubbed his eyes and muttered a cooling charm on them to rid them of their redness before exiting. He and Ginny worked hard pulling weeds and spreading grass seed. Soon they were both working up a sweat and chatting about their upcoming trip to Australia. Soon, Ron and Hermione joined them casting careful glances at Harry when he wasn't looking. They worked for an hour before Harry called Kreacher to bring them some lemonade. They sat and admired their handiwork while sitting in the shade and enjoying their ice cold drinks.

"Well, look who's returned. It's Potty! Hey Potty, where's your family? Huh?" the four wizards looked up to see a small rat faced boy sneering at Harry. There were three larger guys behind him cracking their knuckles and trying their best to look ominously huge, and were succeeding.

"Well, look who it is, Piers and company. Just who I wanted to see today." Harry replied sarcastically. The other three looked to where the voice came from. Piers stepped forward.

"Where's Big D, Potty? What did you do to him and his parents?" Piers was sneering and Harry was curious as to what he meant.

"Well, see if I knew what you meant, I might be able to answer you." Ron looked at the four boys and then at Harry. Piers stepped closer and Harry stood up and Ron stood up next to him.

"Well, if you were smart, you'd understand, but you're not so I'll spell it out for you. Where did you bury their bodies?" Harry looked at the small rat-faced boy and began to laugh. Piers was surprised that he no longer instilled fear in Harry and stopped sneering to gawk at him.

"Where did I what? Bury them? What gave you idiots the idea that I buried them? Why would I need to bury them?" Harry was chuckling. He knew the answer but he needed the laugh so he played dumb.

"Uh, well, maybe because you killed them! So where are they, huh?" A large, beefy toe-headed boy stepped forward and confronted Harry. Ron puffed himself up and stood next to Harry.

"Oh, ok. You all think I killed my relatives, and then buried their bodies somewhere. Is that right?" Hermione and Ginny was appalled that anyone could think that of Harry but weren't saying anything because Harry seemed to find amusement from the whole situation. The four bullies all nodded. "Well, you're all idiots. Why would I kill my stupid relatives right when I was getting ready to leave them forever?" Piers was looking skeptically at Harry.

"So if you didn't kill them, where'd they go? They've been gone for almost a year. They didn't tell anyone where they were going or when they'd be back. So we all assumed you'd killed 'em since you were gone at the same time."

"Oh, and no one thought that maybe I was with them? That they took me along? I was gone at the same time, no one has seen me for the same amount of time. Why wouldn't I be with them? Or, maybe I did kill them." Hermione, Ginny and Ron all looked at Harry grinning. "Maybe I killed them and buried them right here in this backyard." Piers and the other three blanched and backed away.

"You did, you admitted it! I'm calling the police!" Piers began to turn around when suddenly the bullies all froze. Harry looked over and saw Hermione tuck her wand behind her leg. She looked at him.

"What? They were going to call the police on you for murder, Harry. What was I supposed to do? Besides, Kingsley took care of the MLE around this area, but he has no jurisdiction to do anything about the muggle police. We need to take care of them," Hermione nodded her head towards the muggle boys, and winked. Harry grinned and mouthed _memory charms_ to her and she nodded. Ron and Ginny watched all this with mounting excitement. Harry smiled and moved towards the muggles.

"Lets get their sorry arses inside." Harry waved his wand above Piers and saw the boys eyes widen. "Well, Piers, you picked the wrong person to mess with today," he whispered in the blonde's ear. He floated Piers inside and the other three wizards floated a different muggle inside. They brought the four muggles to the living room and sat them on the sofa. Harry paced in front of them for a few moments and the stopped. He turned and faced them.

"The four of you sitting here were the bullies that followed my cousin around and tormented me for ten long years. When I turned eleven, I got a gift. I was told that I had people out there like me and I was given a special gift. This." Harry pointed to his friends who were sitting on the other sofa. "I was given a life away from my relatives abuse. For ten months of the year I got to go to a school where I had friends who quickly became my real family. Last July, I was told I could leave this damn house and my relatives behind for ever. So I did. I won't bore you with the details of what my life was like while I wasn't here. Let's just say, I've lived through several attempts on my life, and being chased by a murdering bastard who killed my parents and many other people, and wanted to kill me too. My life has been hell, first I had to suffer through being chased by you bullying goons, then to be chased by murdering goons after I got rid of you. Now, I come back here for one day and I'm being accused of murder! Ha! That's the most absurd thing I've ever heard of. My relatives didn't die. I didn't murder them. They're in America right now. They will be back in two weeks. I came back today, to clean this place up and make it livable again. It's the least I could do for my stupid family for taking me in as a baby. So, what I could do to you four is this: one, I could let you leave calmly and with the promise of you not going to tell lies to the police. Or two, I could leave you tied up on the sofa until my family comes back in two weeks. What'll it be? Leave safely, or probably die of starvation for two weeks. Which would you guys prefer?" Harry stopped talking and watched the four. He had unfroze them while he was talking and they discovered that they could move again.

"We want to leave!"

"We won't tell!"

"We promise!" Harry smiled and stood up.

"Ok, if you guys want to leave, I'll let you. But first we have to erase your memories." They four bullies found themselves bound by invisible ropes and silenced. Hermione and Harry stood in front of the them and talked quickly.

"Harry, should we erase their memories? What if it backfires like Lockhart and they end up insane?" Harry watched their reactions and was pleased with their looks of shock and horror.

"Yeah, Hermione we need to. We don't know how much they saw or heard before they showed their ugly faces. Plus, you know we've been doing you-know-what in front of them. It's the law." Hermione sighed and nodded.

"Ok, you're right. I'll take the two on the left and you do the other two?" Harry nodded and looked to the bullies.

"Ok, we're going to erase your memories of today. Don't worry the mishap that happened last time shouldn't happen again. We know how to do it now. Besides, Lockhart is better off insane than how he was before. You won't remember me being here today or you being here today. Ready Hermione, I'm going to release them right after you do it. We need to send them back to…Piers is your house ok?" Piers looked at him with confusion and horror. "Ok, let me ask you again. Can we send you guys back to your house?" Piers nodded slowly with wide frightened eyes. "Ok, Hermione, we send them to Piers' house. Ready? _Obliviate. Obliviate._ You guys will forget everything about me and my friends being at this house today. You will forget the strange things that happened also. You were never here and you will go back to Piers' house now." Harry released the four and they got up and walked to the front door. They were soon gone and Harry and his friends breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well, it's nearly time for us to be going back to the Burrow for dinner. Let's finish up the yard and go." Harry wandered back to the yard and they followed. Hermione and Ginny took the task of spreading seed and watering the ground and pulling weeds while they guys re-painted the garage door. After another hour of work where they kept getting interrupted by curious neighbors who came by to see why he was cleaning up the house, they were finished and ready to leave. Earlier that had agreed to walk to Mrs. Figg's house and apparate home, so that's where they headed.

* * *

A/N: wow, first draft of this had Harry torturing the poor muggles and making them cry. But it was pretty OOC of him so I scrapped it. Maybe my mind is a little too morbid. Lol, sorry it's so long again! I just start typing and can't seem to stop! Lol. Sorry for the long wait, I had a mishap with time zones and time differences between England and Australia and had to re-write a large chunk of the next three chapters. That and I got really into a story on SIYE called Harry Potter and the Fifth House. Really good story! So much angst and pain! Lol. Please review, no one reviewed the last chapter and it made me sad! :'( Tell me what you think, please! I'll never know how to improve if no one tells me what's wrong or what they like! Don't make me hold chapters hostage! J/k, I don't think we're allowed to do that… I am starting school again on Monday so chapters may be a little helter skelter-ly posted. But have no fear, I will begin posting more regularly I hope. I had a bit of writers block and I hope it goes away now. REVIEW PLEASE!!


	11. Ollivander's

Disclaimer: I don't own many things. Harry Potter being one of them. Another thing I don't own is a Mercedes.

**_Ollivander's_**

Harry and company spent the next two days planning and packing. They would need supplies for one week in Australia, a day at Grimmauld Place, and then another week in the United States.

Harry spend a few hours every night talking or just listening to George. Harry did this mostly to help out George, but after the first night he realized that the time the two of them spent together was helping him a lot to get over the pain and anger of losing so many people. It seemed, to everyone else, to be helping George also, but Harry knew the truth. He knew that George was not coping well. He had lost the one person who could have gotten him though his depression. Not having Fred to talk to was taking its toll on George. He was spending his nights on the sofa which left him stiff and sore. He was filling many muggle notebooks which he tried to hide in a box under his bed. He was constantly checking on them to make sure no one had found them. He was getting very few hours of sleep at night and the sleep he did get were either restless, nightmare filled ones or brought on by his mother slipping him a sleeping draught in his evening tea. The morning after his mother did that to him the first time he was furious and stormed away from home in his night clothes for several hours. When he finally came home, he refused to speak to his mother for another few hours. People were walking on eggshells around him which caused him to erupt into a temper seemingly out of nowhere. The tempers he was having was shocking everyone who knew him, for George was never the kind of person to yell and hurt others. He was the one who would calm Fred down and start a new plan to prank the person who was responsible for Fred's temper. Now that Fred wasn't there to calm George down, he didn't know what to do.

That's where Harry came in. Harry was the only person George felt comfortable talking too about his feelings because, as he told Harry, he was the only person George knew that had suffered through so much loss. Harry figured that since George felt comfortable talking to him, he'd be there for his friend.

It was the night before they were leaving and George was again sitting on the sofa writing in his notebook. Harry had come down with his own notebook and was writing about Remus. He was planning on giving Teddy his notebooks when the child was ready to learn about his father. Harry was chuckling about his memory of Remus and Tonks' first real public display of affection when George looked up.

"What are you writing about, if you don't mind me asking." Harry looked up with a ghost of a smile on his face.

"Remus' reaction to Tonks snogging him after Dumbledore's funeral. I plan on giving this notebook to Teddy when he's old enough. I'm filling it with stories about Remus and some about Tonks. It's helping me a lot, and I hope it helps Teddy when he's older." George nodded.

"Yeah, I remember that. Didn't he turn redder than any Weasley red and back away with his hands raised in the air, gaping like a fish? Tonks laughed at him so hard." George chuckled a little while Harry smiled.

"Harry, I just remembered that I haven't given you the box of stuff from Remus. It's at the shop right now. We could go really quick and get it if you want. It'll give you a chance to look through it before you go." Harry glanced over his shoulder and stood up.

"Ok, but lets leave a note. George ran upstairs to grab his keys to the shop while Harry scribbled a note.

"What did you write?"

"Dear Mrs. Weasley, George and I went to the shop quickly to pick up something Remus left for me. We'll be back in a bit. Harry. Sound ok?" Harry put the note on the kitchen table and followed George outside. They walk a safe distance so that no one inside would hear the pops of disapparation.

"Yeah, ok, let's go. Apparate to the back room in between shelves two and three. It's our emergency safe spot. See ya there." George disappeared and Harry followed after a brief thought of the layout of the back room he remembered. They arrived safely and walked out into the store front.

"I left it upstairs in the flat. Have you ever been up there?" George asked conversationally as he showed Harry the way to the stairwell leading up stairs.

"Nope." Harry followed George through the empty dark store which at night lacked it's crazy, colorful appearance and looked quite creepy. Harry found himself walking very quietly as if he didn't want to wake anyone. They wandered up the stairs and George opened a door to a living room. He muttered _Lumos_ and the lights came on. What Harry saw surprised him. Everything was decorated in soft neutral colors with an accent of red. The walls were a creamy beige, and had numerous pictures and paintings on the walls, all of which were framed in mock gold plated frames. The furniture consisted of a long sofa, a shorter loveseat and two matching chairs all of which were cream colored with red and gold pillows for accents. There was a red and gold oriental rug in the middle of the room with a glass coffee table in between the sofas. Overall the room was very Gryffindor, but the colors were very subtle. It was not a room Harry would have pictured Fred and George to have decorated. Especially after living in their room at the Burrow the summer after his fifth year. George noticed that Harry had stopped and looked around.

"What's wrong?" he asked Harry.

"Huh? Oh, just admiring the décor. You and Fred decorated this?" Harry was still looking around and saw that in the corner was a large bookcase filled with interesting books and more muggle notebooks. Harry noticed a large book on Magical Patent laws, and one about The Art of Pranking Your Loved Ones. George looked around and smiled.

"No, actually Angelina and Alicia came over one day and saw the mess and insisted on staying up here for the day while we ran the shop and decorate the place. Although, Fred and I were both really impressed with how it turned out. The colors are nice and we liked the subtle Gryffindor feel to it. But we had reign over our own rooms. Come see." George led Harry down a hallway towards a couple closed doors. He pointed out the bathroom which was decorated in a simple Nautical theme. He walked up to a door which had a giant purple 'G' painted on it like muggle graffiti.

"This is my room," he said as he opened the door with a flourish. Harry's jaw dropped. It was the coolest room he had ever seen. The walls were colored a deep blue and were covered in what looked like muggle graffiti. The words WWW, George Weasley, Gryffindor, Dumbledore's Army, and several other phrases were graffitied all over the walls in black and silver and red and gold. The ceiling was painted gold and had splatters of Red paint covering areas. While the walls were painted very elaborately the rest of the room was quite plain. A twin sized bed in the corner matched the color of the walls with pillows the colors of the ceiling. A small desk was overloaded with parchment, broken quills, and inkwells. A medium sized bookshelf was next to the desk filled with books and photo albums. There was a dresser in one corner and a chair covered in dirty clothes in another corner. An end table sat next to the bed with an alarm clock and candle on it. A shelf on the wall held several sentimental items and a broomstick on it.

George stood up on the bed and reached to the shelf and pulled down a small wooden owl statue. He jumped off the bed and handed it to Harry.

"Come on I'll show you Fred's room before we go." Harry looked to the owl in his hand and then at George.

"Er, George? What is this?" George looked at him and smirked.

"It's your box. Come on, I don't want mum to wake up and worry." George stood aside and led Harry out of his room and shut the door behind him. They both looked to the door across from George's. It had a large purple 'F' painted on it. George took a deep breath before reaching his hand forward to the knob. He pushed the door open and Harry gasped. Neon colors assaulted Harry's eyes. The walls were each painted black with a different neon color splattered across it. Green, pink, orange, and yellow were the main colors in the room. All the furniture was painted a pearly black. The bed had a black comforter on it with neon frogs and peace signs stitched into it. A dark light-bulb hung from a place in the center of the ceiling and was on, making all the neon colors even brighter. On the black painted ceiling were stars and swirls. Muggle black light posters hung around the room. Also in the room, were furniture identical to George's. Even down to the dirty laundry on the chair. Harry changed his mind, this was the coolest room he had ever seen. Harry gaped and stared around him. George smiled at his reaction but stayed in the hallway. After Harry had his fill of the bright colors he walked back into the hallway and George muttered the counter spell to turn off the lights and shut the door.

"Fred had seen a black light and the effect it had on neon colors in a muggle club we once went too. He decided on that décor because he thought it was so cool. The only problem he had was finding the right light. We had Alicia Spinnet help us in London search the muggle stores for one, since she's half-blood." George and Harry made it to the living room and sat down. "Well, that owl thing is your box. We transfigured it to look the way it does and hid it on the shelf in there to keep it safe. Remus said it was a bunch of diaries made my him and his friends in school, more photo albums, a few trinkets he'd saved, and a bunch of legal paper that you need to keep. George stood up and walked to the door. "Come on, we should get back home before mum wakes up and rushed over here to see if we're alright."

They left and apperated back to the Burrow. George went to the sofa and Harry joined him in the room but sat in Mr. Weasley's chair. Harry un-transfigured the wooden owl back into the box and took a deep breath before opening it. He looked at it and decided it was more like a small chest than just a box. It was a handsome Maple and Black Walnut hope chest with a sturdy bronze unlocked key latch. He marveled at the beauty of it before slowly opening it. Inside were a dozen books, a pile of papers bound by a ribbon, four medium to large photo albums, and three smaller boxes. Harry pulled out the stack of paper and saw that they were mostly legal documents and he decided to look through them at a different time. He looked at the new treasures and decided to open the smaller of the two boxes first, since good things come in small packages. He pulled the smallest box out and sat back in the chair.

It was a small, cheap unfinished wooden box with a flimsy brass clasp. He opened it and a piece of paper fell out from on top of a small golden snitch. Harry's eyes widened as he realized what snitch he was holding. George heard Harry's gasp and looked up to see Harry reading a scrap of paper and holding a small golden ball.

"What's that?" George asked. Harry finished reading and looked up with excitement in his eyes.

"It's my dad's practice snitch. I saw him using it in a memory I saw once. He left a note with it." Harry looked down at the paper and back at George. "It says: Harry, I used this in school to work on making my reflexes faster. It helped on the pitch and in dueling. Today is your eleventh birthday, and I am giving it to you in hopes that you make the team and use this snitch to better your game. Love, dad." Harry was in awe that he was holding something that belonged to his dad. George was staring at Harry with a smile.

"I wonder why he planned on putting it away until your eleventh birthday. But hey that's cool that you have that now." Harry smiled and George went back to his notebook. Harry re-read the note a fourth time and folded it carefully and placing them both into the box and set it aside. If everything in this chest were this good he didn't want to linger over one thing. He looked into the chest and pulled out the largest box and placed it on his lap. It was a woman's jewelry box he could tell that much. It was a black lacquered box and on top was an enameled white lily. He admired the beauty of the box for several seconds before opening it to find yet another letter and several pieces of jewelry. He opened the letter and began to read.

_My darling child. Harry, I love you so much. I'm sitting here writing this while I watch you sleep. You snore so softly it's barely noticeable. That is until, you snort and roll over, and then I have to keep myself from laughing out loud and waking you. I'm writing this because we are going into hiding tomorrow. Your father and I don't know the outcome of this stupid war or if we'll live through it, but we have heard the prophecy. We both have fought Voldemort several times now and survived, but if the prophecy is true then we might not be here much longer. I just want you to know, if we don't make it, that we love you so very much. You are mine and your father's life. We would do anything to protect you, to keep you alive._

_In this box is my engagement ring from your father. It was such a romantic night when he proposed. We were sitting at the edge of the lake in Godrics Hollow watching a meteor shower. He pointed to a particularly large meteor and asked me to shut my eyes and make a wish. I did and when I opened them, I got my wish. He was kneeling in front of me with a little black box and inside was this ring. It's a silver band with a bright emerald at the center with two smaller diamonds on each side. It has a few Celtic swirls on the outside of each diamond and an engraving on the inside. Notre amour à jamais. Our Love Forever. I still remember to this day what he said to me. "Lils, I know that, you know, you hated me for almost six years. But, I love you so much that I would do anything for you to be my wife. Lily Evans, will you marry this undeserving marauder?" I laughed and told him with out a doubt I loved him and yes, I would suffer through the silly marauder to marry him. I'm not sure if anyone has told you this, because I figure that if you are reading this letter, that I'm not there to tell you myself. James and I were married six months to the day after he proposed. It was a small wedding with mine and his family and several of our closest friends on 1 May, 1979._

_Our wedding bands were simple designs. Silver, with a heart shaped emerald surrounded by two smaller diamonds for me, and a silver band with a small inset emerald for James. You'll find them in this box also._

_The other pieces of jewelry in my box are a necklace I got from James on our one year anniversary. It's the one that has a small heart with your birthstone, a ruby. The other necklace is an Evans family heirloom handed down to the youngest child of each family. It belonged to my mother and her mother before her and so on for a dozen generations. It looks like a large purple tear drop. The stone is called Amethyst. My family were muggles for many generations but the myth surrounding this type of stone is that it has healing properties and helps with the third eye. I don't believe the thing about the third eye, but the healing properties I do believe, because I wore it during my pregnancy with you when my morning sickness got bad, and when I put it on the sickness diminished._

_The last piece of jewelry is a bracelet I got from a dear childhood friend. You may or may not know him now, but his name was Severus Snape. We had a falling out in our fifth year, but he and I were the closest friends for many years. He gave me this bracelet for Christmas in our fifth year. Later that year we had a horrible argument and never really spoke much afterwards. He was choosing a lifestyle that was something I did not agree with at all, and he couldn't understand why I disagreed with him. I forever wished that he would change and come back to being friends again, but I fear that he may never change his dark ways, and for that I am sad for him. But I always kept his bracelet and wore it often._

_I want you to know Harry, that I love you. I hope that I will be there for you always to tell you myself, but there's a feeling deep within my soul that I'm not going to be around much longer. It's a scary feeling and I hope it's one you do not feel until you're old and wrinkled. You are the best thing that ever happened to me and I will always be there for you and watching over you, even if I can't be there in physical body. Take care of yourself Harry, darling. I love you so much. I have to stop writing now, you woke up from your nap and are very hungry and need a new nappy._

_I love you._

_Love, Mum._

Harry was crying. So many things he had always wondered had been answered by his own mother's letter to him. He re-read the letter a few more times before he realized that George was watching him sleepily.

"Good letter?" George asked quietly.

"The best," whispered Harry with a sad smile. He cleared his throat and wiped his eyes before saying, "I'll go upstairs and let you sleep now. Night." George wished him good night and laid down. Harry turned out the lights after he packed up the chest and left. On the way up the stairs he contemplated waking up Ginny and showing her the find, but thought better of it as he was nearly sleep-walking himself. He climbed to the top level and slowly opened the door and crept in. He set the box on top of his trunk he had rescued from Privet Drive three days before and crawled into bed. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow, his dreams filled with letters, snitches, and jewelry.

* * *

Harry woke early the next morning, after only getting a few hours of sleep, by a harried Hermione.

"Ron, Harry, get up. Mrs. Weasley has breakfast cooking. We need to be ready for the portkey tonight. Harry, where did that chest come from." Harry sat up quickly and saw the box and memories from the night before assailed him.

"Oh, that's the box that Remus left in Fred and George's care for me. Look what's inside." Harry pulled it open and pulled out the small box with the snitch. He had told the two of them about the memory of his dad and the snitch. He opened the box and Ron gasped.

"Is that…your dad's snitch?" Ron asked. Harry nodded and handed them the note. They read it quickly and with wide eyes. They looked up at Harry.

"Harry, when did George give this too you? Why didn't you tell us about it?" Hermione was looking towards the books in the chest that Harry had yet to look at.

"George remembered it last night and we went to his flat quick and got it. I sat downstairs last night for an hour or two with him and opened a few things. That box there is my mum's jewelry box. That stack of paper just looked like legal documents so I skipped them for now. I haven't looked at anything else yet, though." Harry replaced the snitch and closed the chest, ignoring Hermione's wistful glance at the books. He wanted to go through them before he let anyone else. Hermione went downstairs to let the guys get dressed.

The boys arrived downstairs to the smell of a huge breakfast laid out, it included all their favorites. Ron sat down next to Hermione and planted a quick kiss on her cheek before heaping food onto his plate. Harry circled the table and sat next to Ginny and also gave her a kiss. Although he did not heap as much food as Ron, he did eat his share. After breakfast, Harry whispered to Ginny, "Meet me upstairs." She nodded and followed him. Harry had asked Ron to keep Hermione busy for an hour while he spent some time with Ginny in their room. Ron had been skeptical until Harry had told him about the letter from his mum and that he wanted to share it with Ginny.

The two of them arrived in Ron's room and sat down on the bed.

"So what's up Harry? Hermione said you had a great find last night." Ginny had curled up next to Harry. He smiled and nodded to her. He shifted and levitated the chest to the space on the floor in front of them. Ginny's eyes widened with confusion and shock.

"Well, what's that?" she asked. Harry moved to it and opened it pulling out the two boxes.

"This chest has a bunch of things from my parents. Did I ever tell you about how my dad was a chaser, but used a snitch to show off?" She nodded. "Look." He opened the box and showed her the snitch. He smiled as her eyes widened as she read the note and looked up at Harry.

"Wow, Harry. I can't believe how this must feel for you." Harry smiled.

"You have no idea. The next box is my mother's jewelry box." Her eyes widened even more. He pulled out the letter and showed it to her. When she realized what it was she looked to Harry before reading on.

"Are you sure you want me to read this Harry, it seems kind of personal." He nodded.

"If I were to show this to anyone Gin, it would be you. Go ahead and read it." She hungrily looked down and began to devour the letter with her eyes. Half way through she had to stop and have Harry conjure up a handkerchief to wipe away her tears. She finished reading it and hugged Harry.

"Thank you for letting me read it Harry, this must mean so much to you. Your mum seems like a really sweet woman." Harry smiled at her.

"I know. I mean I had Remus and Sirius tell me about my dad, and I got to see some memories about my mum from Professor Snape's memories, but this letter was from her to me. She wrote it to me, held it in her hand and look, she makes her 'g's and 'y's like I do." Harry was practically bouncing now and Ginny couldn't contain her happiness for him.

"I still think it's a little weird that Snape loved your mum and she was good friends with him until he went dark. This bracelet is kind of pretty though," Ginny said as she picked up a small bracelet that had small emeralds and diamonds alternating around the silver band.

"Yeah. I mean I hated the man for so long and now, I just can't find it in myself to hate him. Granted I'll probably never think of him as an uncle or anything, but I am sad he's gone. Kind of.

"These two boxes are the only things I got to look through last night. I kind of wanted to share them with you. I figured that I'd leave all the books and papers for after our trips, but I have one more box to look through before we leave. Want to stay with me?" She nodded and scooted closer to him. He pulled out the last box. It was long and thin and had a crest on the top with a large, elaborate P in the center.

"Harry," Ginny whispered, shocked. "I think that's the Potter crest." Harry looked at it closer, shocked.

"I didn't even know the Potter's had a crest," he mumbled.

"Well, the Potter's are one of the more prominent wealthy pureblood families. Well, pureblood until you came along." Harry looked at her shocked but realized she was joking and laughed. "Of course they'd have a crest." He looked closer at his family crest and studied it. It was a blue shield with a Griffin in the center. Above the shield was a knights helmet facing the left. On top of the helmet was twelve point buck with its head down in a charging stance. Blue and gold leaves and spirals were coming out of the sides of the shield and spreading outward. There were two ribbon shapes, on above the crest and one below, both had words in them. The one on top said Potter, the bottom said Exitus acta probat.

"Do you know what that means?" Harry pointed. She read it and shook her head.

"Sorry, I don't know. It looks latin to me though, maybe you could ask Hermione." She looked at the phrase again and then at Harry. "Well, are you going to open it?" She handed the box back to him to do the honors. He smirked at her and opened the box. They gasped. Inside were two long wands. There were no markings on either except a scorch mark near the middle of the longer wand. They were the only things in the box.

"Harry, do you think they belonged to your parents?" Ginny breathed. Harry looked from her to the wands and shrugged.

"Why else would they be in here? I mean, who's else could they be?"

"You should have Ollivander look at them. He remembers every wand he ever sold. He could tell you." Ginny and Harry looked at the wands for a minute before Harry reached forward. He pulled the shorter of the two out and held it. He pointed it at Ginny and muttered something, and flowers shot out into her hands.

"Thank you Harry! They're beautiful!" she squealed.

"Well, now we know one of them works for me." He put it down and picked up the longer and waved it. A pair of socks on the ground turned into light green parakeets that flew out and flittered about their heads before flying out of the open window. "And now we know that both work for me. I wonder if we'd have time today before we leave to get Ollivander to check them for me. The Portkey leaves at ten tonight. Do you think we'd be able to go to Diagon Alley quickly?" Ginny shrugged and looked at the door. He took the hint and placed the wands back into the box and stood up. He pulled Ginny to her feet and dragged her to the door. They ran down stairs and yelled for Hermione.

"HERMIONE! WHERE ARE YOU?" Harry yelled at the top of his lungs and several people came running.

"Harry, for the love of Merlin, what's the matter?" Hermione careened out of the living room into the hallway. Ron ploughed into her from behind as she had suddenly stopped. They fell to the floor in a heap just as George and Mrs. Weasley ran in from outside.

"What the devil is going on here? Are you two alright?" Mrs. Weasley asked as George helped Ron up who then helped his girlfriend up.

"We're alright, just wondering why Harry was screaming? Harry what's going on?" Everyone turned to look at him. He blushed and cleared his throat.

"Erm, well, I was wondering if we had time to run to Diagon Alley? Before the portkey?" Harry bit his lip and tried to look innocent. Hermione huffed.

"That's what all this fuss is about? Why do you need to go to Diagon Alley?" Everyone turned again to look at him.

"Well, I found these in that box." He held out the box and opened it. Everyone saw the two wands and gasped. "I think they may be my parents wands. I wanted to see Ollivander and ask him. It shouldn't take too long. Half and hour tops. I don't think I could wait two weeks to find out." The teens looked at Mrs. Weasley and gave her puppy dog eyes. She sighed.

"Well, I see no problem, if you're all back in a few hours. Actually, I need some more potion ingredients maybe I'll join you."

After everyone ran around getting their money and clean robes on, the group flooed to the Leaky Cauldron. Mrs. Weasley told the groups to meet back at the Leaky Cauldron in three hours and went off on her own to the Apothecary. George decided to check on the shop. After his late night walk through he decided that it was almost time to re-open and he needed to make supply lists, and check registers. So he bid his farewell and wandered away.

"Harry, do you want us all to come with you? Or just Ginny?" Ron asked pointedly. Harry looked to Hermione who was looking towards the bookstore with desire.

"No, you two go on a quick date, it will only take Ginny and I a few minutes then we'll go do something also. Have fun!" Hermione looked back and realized that they were given permission to wander and began pulling Ron towards Flourish & Blotts. Ron smiled back at Harry and Ginny as she dragged him away.

"That was nice of you Harry, they needed a proper date. Hopefully Ron gets to do something he wants as well. Come on, there's Ollivander's." Ginny began pulling Harry towards the rickety old shop. They walked up to the door and wandered in hearing a bell somewhere deep in the shop. They waited for a few minutes before a short blonde haired woman wandered out to greet them.

"'Ello, welcome to Ollivander's. Makers o' fine wands since 382 BC. What can I do for yeh today, chaps?" The woman glanced up with a bored look on her face which disappeared as soon as she caught Harry's stare. "'Oly cricket! You're 'Arry Potter! Oh, Mr. Potter, it's so very nice to meet yeh. What can I do for yeh, Mr. Potter, sir?" Harry blushed and glanced at Ginny who stepped forward.

"Yes, hi. My name's Ginny, we were wondering if Mr. Ollivander were in today? We have a question for him that only he can answer." The woman glared at Ginny and huffed before she turned around and yelled towards the back room.

"Gran'da, someone's 'ere to talk wit yeh." She turned back to them and said, "E'll be right out." The woman turned and walked into the storage closet just as an old man came around the corner.

"Mr. Potter, and Ms Weasley, what a pleasant surprise. I guess you came in today to get a new wand Mr. Potter, I remember you saying that yours broke earlier this year." Mr. Ollivander began to pull out a measuring tape before Harry stopped him.

"Actually sir, my wand has been fixed. I came in for a different reason today." Ollivander looked at him curiously for a moment before he put away his measuring tape.

"Ok, but I'm curious to know how your wand was fixed when it was broken beyond repair. But go ahead and we'll talk about that later." Ollivander waved his ancient wand and made them some comfy chairs to sit on. Harry explained his new possessions and that he was wondering if they were his parents.

"Well, I can answer that for you, hand them here." Harry handed the old man the whole box. Ollivander lingered on the lid as he observed the crest. "Curious family motto, it seems to fit you perfectly. Ah! Yes, Willow, ten and a quarter inch, swishy, good for charm work. This wand was your mother Lily's wand. I remember the day she came in here. Her parents were in awe of all my wands, while her sister was clearly trying not to show her disbelief in magic, but failing dreadfully." Harry was gaping at the older man.

"You remember all that? Wait, my aunt was here?" Harry was getting exited to hear more about his parents.

"Yes, they all came with Professor McGonagall as their, shall I say, guide? The Professor was just taking on duty's of Deputy Headmistress at the time, so she went to muggle borns and told them of our world. She also brought them to Diagon Alley for the first time so they could see the barrier and learn how to open it. Your mother's sister was particularly obstinate about logic and how magic can't exist in a logical world. Her parents continually told her to hush.

"Now this one here," he pulled out the other wand. "This one is Mahogany, eleven inches, pliable, good for transfiguration, belonged to your father. This burn mark must have come from when he dueled the Dark Lord the day he died." Ollivander examined the scorch mark before he placed the wands back in their box and handed them back to Harry. "Now, how did you fix your wand?" Harry was disappointed that he wasn't going to hear more about his parents but told the man the story of the Elder Wands travels.

"And I used the Elder wand to repair mine. It worked well and I decided to hide the Elder wand to keep it from causing more destruction. Only I know it's location and I am the secret keeper." Ollivander had a look in his eyes that Harry didn't like.

"You know son, you remind me a lot of another young man I once knew. You're both very determined and sure of yourselves." Harry looked at Ginny who shrugged.

"And who would that be, sir?" Harry asked.

"Albus Dumbledore. Just be careful that confidence doesn't lead to arrogance and conceit. I really should get back to work. It was nice seeing you two again. Ms Weasley, please tell your mother I said hello for me and thank you for the lovely cake she sent to the store. Good day." The old man left the two standing in the waiting room alone. They looked at each other and shrugged. They wandered outside and began to decide what to do with their three quarters of an hour they had left. They decided to go to Quality Quidditch Supplies so Harry could scope out prices on a new broom.

They arrived in front of the store and looked in the window. They went inside and saw a few class mates who waved. Harry checked out the prices on the new Firebolt Thunder.

"What is the price of the new Firebolt?" Harry asked the clerk sweeping the floor, who glanced up at him and scoffed.

"Like a kid like you'd be able to afford one. It's 300 Galleons, fifteen Sickles, and six Knuts. Told you that you couldn't afford one kid, now scram." Harry looked at Ginny and smirked.

"Ok, you've convinced me, I'll take one." The kid looked up once more to yell at the annoying kid who was bugging him but stopped with his mouth open when he saw the scar on Harry's head. Harry smiled at him politely.

"Blimey, you're…"

"Yes, I know who I am thank you. I'd like to put a new Firebolt Thunder on hold please. I'll be back in two weeks to pick it up." Harry followed the stunned clerk towards the desk. He signed the paperwork for the hold and they left the store.

"Harry, I can't believe that you just bought that broom, it's so bloody expensive! You'll let me have a go, won't you?" Ginny was bouncing down the street practically giddy at the thought.

"I can't believe I bought it either. That guy just irritated me. And yes, you can have a go, when I actually have it. Hey do you mind if we go visit Teddy for a bit?" Ginny stopped spinning and looked at Harry with a smile.

"Ok, but we should buy him a present before we go there. Okay? How about that store there?" She pointed to a small shop that sold baby supplies and clothes. He shrugged and they went in. Harry's nose was instantly itchy because of the baby powder scent in the air. Ginny cooed and awed over many different things for ten minutes before they finally left the store after buying a stuffed dragon that blew colored smoke animals when it's tummy was rubbed. They also bought Andromeda a large pack of self-cleaning nappies and baby biscuits (nutritious and delicious animal shaped biscuits, guaranteed choke proof). They walked quickly to the Leaky Cauldron and Harry apperated them to the Tonks' residence.

"Maybe we should have owled first." Harry whispered after they knocked. Andromeda answered the door before Ginny could respond.

"Harry! What are you doing here? Oh never mind that, come on in. How are you both? I got your letter the other day Harry about your trip to Australia. Don't you leave today?" They wandered into the sitting room and saw the little Purple haired boy sitting on a rug, a wail on his face but no sound coming from him. "I was just making his bottle. I don't know what I'd do without Silencing charms sometimes. Would you watch him while I finish the bottle?" She bustled back into the kitchen after they said they wouldn't mind.

"Harry, have you thought about what she offered you after Tonks' and Remus' funerals, about living here?" Harry nodded slowly. She sat back and Harry walked over the wailing child and picked him up while undoing the silencing charm.

"Hey there, big guy. Are you hungry? Grandma's making a nice bottle for you, but while we wait how about a present?" Teddy stopped crying and looked at Harry studying his face. As Harry reached for the bag with Puff, the dragon, Teddy changed his hair and eyes to match Harry's. When Harry looked back he gasped which drew Ginny's eyes from the pictures on the wall she was looking at.

"Awe, Harry he looks just like you. This must be what you looked like as a baby!" Ginny walked over and cooed to Teddy. Harry waved the dragon toy in front of Teddy who squealed in delight and grabbed for it.

"Teddy this is Puff, the dragon. When you rub his tummy he blows a smoke animal for you." Harry and Teddy sat down on the sofa. Teddy was resting on his knee and hugging the dragon tightly. Harry showed him the tummy rub and Teddy watched in baby awe at the smoke monkey sat on his shoulder and tickled his ears. Andromeda walked in and smiled.

"Oh, Teddy-bear a new toy! How exiting! Here's the bottle, do one of you two want to feed him? How long are you staying?" She handed the bottle to Ginny who had held out her hand for it. Harry handed the baby to her and she proceeded to feed the child.

"Well, we actually have to go in about thirty minutes. We had some time before we had to leave so we went and got Teddy a present and came over. Sorry for not owling you before we got here. We brought some things for you too. Well, they're for Teddy and you, I guess." He pulled out the biscuits and nappies and handed them to Andromeda. She read the label on the crackers and then the nappies.

"Oh my! I wanted to get these for a while now, but they're so expensive. Thank you Harry, Ginny! And these biscuits are a perfect food to start him teething on. Wonderful."

"Well, I thought since I'm going to be gone for two weeks and unable to drop by to help occasionally I would get something that was useful. I'm glad you liked it." The three of them sat and talked for a half an hour and Teddy finished his bottle and gummed a biscuit to their amusement. Andromeda whipped out a camera to take pictures of Harry, Ginny, and Teddy and Teddy drooling over the biscuits.

All too soon Harry and Ginny were saying their goodbyes and hugging the little boy. They apperated back to the pub and saw that they were the first there. They ordered a Butterbeer each and sat down. The rest of their group staggered back into the pub with in the time limit and they all sat down and had a Butterbeer. George decided to stay at the shop for a few hours with Percy so they said goodbye and left as the rest flooed home.

* * *

A/N: You'll find out the Potter family motto in the next chapter, it's a clever one! Remember, any questions you have and really want answered I always respond to questions in the reviews. My email is on my homepage/profile also. I am currently looking for a beta, so chapters will be slow to come. I need to have the beta edit the first eleven chapters before I do more. If it begins to take a really long time, I'll slowly post new chapters. Maybe 2 a month? I have also started school again. I work at my school as an art tutor so that takes up some time also. Going through Environmental Science after about 5 years since my last science class is sucking and the fact that half my class is online is nerve wracking. But I hope to do ok. So I post this chapter as a Please-don't-throw-rotten-fruit-at-me-for-taking-so-long-to-post-more-chapters. I love reviews they warm my heart so I dedicate this chapter to my last three reviewers to review ch. 10. shetlandlace, eclipsed heart, and katieluvshoes12345 I thank you for your reviews and hope you keep checking in.


	12. Down Under

Disclaimer: Harry Potter does not belong to me. Although I have taken a few liberties with my OC characters, which are mine. Enjoy!

**_Down Under_**

Harry and Ginny headed back upstairs as soon as they arrived back home to discuss what they had learned. They sat and talked for an hour before they looked up to see Ron and Hermione standing in the door way. The two of them walked in and sat down on Ron's bed opposite Harry and Ginny.

"So, were they your parents wands? What did Mr. Ollivander say?" Hermione cut to the chase.

"Well, he told me that they are most defiantly my parents wands. He also told me a little about my mum's first trip to Diagon alley." Hermione looked as thought she wanted to hear every detail but Ginny continued.

"Then, we went to see Teddy and brought him a present. Oh and Harry bought a new broomstick." Ron looked expectantly at Ginny, then at Harry.

"Well? What kind? Is it a Firebolt, a Nimbus? What?" Harry and Ginny smirked at each other. Harry nodded to Ginny letting her know she could spill the secret.

"Oh, just a new Firebolt Thunder," she laughed out loud when Ron squealed like a girl before fainting into Hermione's side. Harry laughed with her while Hermione huffed and started slapping Ron's shoulder to get him to wake up. Harry and Ginny were still laughing when Ron came too and sat back up. He was mumbling to himself something that sounded like Thunder and undefeated for a few minutes. Hermione and the other's ignored him and kept talking.

"So Harry what exactly did Mr. Ollivander say to you? I'm really curious." Harry picked up the box and looked at it.

"Well he said something about my family crest and motto. That is was fitting for me or something. I didn't get a chance to ask him what it said though. It's in Latin and Ginny nor I can't read it." He handed the box to Hermione and she examined the crest and motto for several long minutes. Harry and Ginny sat patiently and Ron still mumbled about broomsticks. Hermione looked up at them and grinned.

"Well, I'd say its fitting Harry. Very fitting. _Exitus acta probat_ is Latin for The Outcome Justifies The Deed. Very fitting, I'd say." Hermione handed him the box and chuckled at his gobsmacked look.

"The outcome justifies the deed? Seriously? Wow. That's just…really? That's what is says?" Hermione nodded and Ginny giggled.

"Well, there is no saying that you're not a Potter now is there. You just reek of your family motto," Ginny laughed. Harry hit her with a pillow and started a pillow fight that lasted for several long minutes. It also succeeded in knocking Ron out of his stupor. Soon though, Mrs. Weasley was calling up the stairs that they should all come down stairs.

They all had lunch and then were ordered to take a sleeping draught and take a long nap since they'd be arriving in Australia at nine in the morning. At seven pm they were awoken by the smell of a roast chicken dinner complete with mashed potatoes and gravy, and corn on the cob. Ron was drooling before he even opened his eyes. They got dressed quickly and raced down the stairs, Ron winning by a mile thanks to his long legs and insatiable appetite. George, Charlie, and Percy all sat in the living room after dinner talking about the shop and what George and Percy needed to do to get it ready for Diagon Alley's official Re-Opening in three weeks. While many of the shops were open right now, like Ollivander's, Quality Quidditch, and the Apothecary, many of the other stores were still closed and waiting for new supplies and their owners to come out of hiding. The shops that were open were also experiencing shorter hours and limited supplies.

Harry was dragged back upstairs by Ginny and Ron by Hermione. They all sat in Ron's room and waited for the next few hours to go by. They were wide awake now and anxious to get going.

"Harry, what are the rest of the things in the chest you got. You said there were you dad's snitch, your mother's jewelry box, and their wands, but what else was there? I saw lots of books in there," Hermione said trying not to look like she wanted to ransack the room to find the books. Harry and Ron laughed and Harry got up to get the chest.

"Well, we have a few hours we might as well look at them," he said as he reached into the chest and pulled out four books. Most of the books seemed to be identical black leather bound volumes, as there were a few that looked different. The only difference on the black leather ones was the gold lettering on the front of each cover. The one Harry had on top seemed to be the first one as it read _The Marauder Journals, volume one (Which means year one for those who aren't smart)._ Harry read this and laughed loudly. The others just looked at him curiously until he showed them the cover, then they laughed also. Harry sat down and held the book in front of him.

"I guess they had a journal they wrote in every year. Should I just read it out loud so it goes in order?" The others nodded eagerly. Harry smiled and opened the book.

Two hours later they were all startled out of their laughter by Mrs. Weasley calling them downstairs. So far from their reading they had read about the marauders meeting, becoming friends, and naming themselves and many more escapes from Filch than the trio had all their school years. They had all laughed themselves to tears at some of the jokes and pranks the marauders had done. They were glad that Fred and George hadn't gotten a hold of these books ever, or school would have been even more chaotic then it already was.

The foursome trouped down the many staircases and walked into the living room. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were standing in the center of the room, Mr. Weasley holding an umbrella.

"Sit down, we have about ten minutes to discuss some things before you leave," Mr. Weasley said as he gestured towards the couches. "There will be some ground rules while you four are in a different country. First, while you are staying in the hotel, separate rooms for the guys and girls. Ginny should be able to stay with Hermione at her parents house if the need should arise. Two, no one should be alone ever. Even if it is in the hotel rooms no one should be left alone. Three, no magic in front of the muggles at all. The magic there is monitored so strictly that even a simple Lumos in a muggle hotel room will set off their alarms and bring their ministry down on you in a matter of seconds. While you are there, you are muggles. I am actually tempted to take your wands and hold onto them for you, but that would leave you defenseless. You are allowed to use magic to defend yourselves if the need arises, but take care that you don't act like Mad-eye, rest his soul, whipping wands out at anything that scares you." The group looked at each other and back to Mr. Weasley.

"Four, the portkey leaves from here and arrives back in Grimmauld Place's kitchen. There is only one portkey and if you miss it when it's time to leave, you will be stuck in Australia for a week or so, maybe even longer. I'll trust you four to pick one person to keep track of the portkey during the week." The three of them looked straight at Hermione, who opened her mouth in surprise.

"You guys want _me_ to take care of the portkey? Why me?"

"Well, 'Mione, of the four of us, you are the most responsible one. That's why," Ron smirked. She looked at the other two and they nodded, so she shrugged in submission.

"Okay, that answers that. Now, Harry, I must apologize to you about springing this on you now. But, the Australian Ministry learned that you were the one wanting admission to their country and demanded that you be directed to their Ministry building and meet their Minister of Magic. He will give you a brief tour of the magical locations so that you can Apperate around and talk to you, I'm sure, about you. I am truly sorry about that. I tried to keep it under wraps that you were traveling, but someone tipped off the Transportation Department and they filled in the paperwork that was sent to the other Ministry." Arthur truly looked sorry so Harry felt no ill will towards him.

"It's alright Mr. Weasley. I think I can handle it. I'll try and think about it as learning about other Ministries." Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Hermione beamed at him, while Ron and Ginny faked gagging behind their backs. Harry grinned and rolled his eyes.

"Oh, and one more thing. Be good! Now, each of you take hold of your bags with one hand and the umbrella with the other. We'll see you all at Grimmauld Place in a week. Good luck!" Everyone held on tightly while Mr. Weasley counted down. The last thing they saw was Mrs. Weasley tearfully smiling and waving before they began spinning. The trip took much longer than any other portkey trip they had taken and by the time they had arrived they were all nauseous and dizzy and laying on their backs.

"Ah, you must be the Potter Party, right? I'll give you all a few minutes to situate yourselves and we'll head up to the Minister's office. He's right exited to meet 'ya Mr. Potter," said a young man that was sitting at a desk in an area marked Transport. The man had dark skin and extremely dark brown hair and was wearing a kaki colored button down shirt with a kangaroo and a wand stitched on the left side and the name Mike stitched on the right side. "M'name's Mike Janson. I'm the intern of the Transport Department. Are y'all ready?" Mike stood up and helped the girls to their feet. He led the way up a few flights of stairs and down several hallways. No one they passed looked remotely magical, in fact if they hadn't been told they were arriving in the Aussie Ministry of Magic they would think they had arrived in a muggle office building, all the way down to the tacky landscape paintings on the walls and a Culligan Water fountain next to a copier machine.

Mike saw the four of them looking around skeptically and answered their unasked questions.

"Australian wizardry is not as common as you'd think. Everyone with magic in Australia has at least one aboriginal relative. My great-grandfather was a full blooded Aborigine. His son was taken to live in a white, Christian boys home in the late 20's to learn how to be a civilized human being. He grew up hating all magic and married a plain, Christian girl. They had a son, who grew up and learned he was magical. That was my dad. When my great-grandfather learned his grandson was magic he came to Sydney and offered to take my father back home with him so he could learn magic. Well, my grandfather, hating magic the way he did, agreed and let me father move back to the tribes land. He grew up learning magic and got married to my mom and had me and my two sisters.

"The thing about Australia though is that there aren't as many magical folk around anymore that aren't aborigine's so they have a small area in the north where they can live and we keep track of them here. We have the central magical headquarters, or Ministry, in Sydney so we can keep track of the whole continent." Mike looked up and stopped. "Ah, here we are. G'day Linda, I've got the Potter Party here to see the Minister," he said to a short dark skinned woman who had large piercings in her ears.

She glanced up and nodded then looked back down. She finished reading a sheet of paper before reaching over and pressing a button on a phone and said, "Minister the Potter Party is here to see you." She waited and they heard a crackle and static-y reply they couldn't understand, before saying okay. Without looking up she said, "He'll see you now, go on in," as she waved her hand towards a door to her right. They said goodbye to Mike and walked through the door and into a large office room.

There were many tribal portraits on the walls and behind the desk there was a large ceremonial instrument hanging on the wall. The man behind the desk stood and welcomed them.

"Ah, Mr. Potter, it's so nice to finally meet you. My name is Paul Kessy, I am the Minister of Magic here in Australia and Tasmania. Please have a seat, all of you." He sat in his large black chair behind his desk and the four of them sat also while Harry introduced his friends.

"I was only partially informed of why you needed to come to my country. I was only told that you were here to retrieve someone's relatives." Hermione sat up straighter and cleared her throat.

"Yes, that would be my parents. See, since I was so close with Harry during his fight I knew I was a target of Voldemort's Death eaters, so I did some complicated magic on my parents and sent them here because I knew that your laws were harder to break here without being caught. My parents are muggles so I didn't see a problem with sending them here." The minister was looking at her closely. "They don't even know who I am right now. I memory charmed them to forget me to keep them safe." Hermione looked a little sad and Ron placed an arm around her to comfort her.

"That is strong magic for one so young to be practicing. Almost considered borderline Dark magic here in Australia. I will forget I heard of it for now, since you must have accomplished it in London and not here. I would like to review the rules and laws of my country before I let you wander aimlessly for the time you'll be here. We have few laws here about magical tourists but the ones we do have are very strict. First, we do not allow any magic to be done in muggle inhabited areas. So Miss, since your parents are muggles that must mean they live in muggle areas. That will mean no magic in their house when you find them. Secondly, only if you are in life threatening danger may you use defensive magic. There are few dangerous magical beasts here that would attack humans and the ones we do have are on the island of Tasmania, so there are no threats of that nature to worry about. Thirdly, you are not allowed to bring any

creature, whether magical or not, into the country without the proper identification and paperwork. But I don't see any animals with you so I don't think you have anything to worry about.

"Now that we have that out of the way. Welcome to Australia. I hope you have a wonderful time, might I suggest a visit to the aboriginal tribes of the northern territories. There will be a most wonderful celebration in a few days time up near Kakadu National Park. I have a map of the country with apparation sites outlined and magical towns marked. I'm sorry I can't take you around the area myself today, I have much to do." With this statement Mr. Kessy stood and handed Harry a small map and said good bye to them. They glanced at each other and shrugged and walked back out of the door they had only just arrived through a few moments before. They got directions from the secretary on how to got out of the building and headed out to the street.

"Well, that was…interesting. I don't understand why we couldn't learn the rules from someone else. I mean, why the Minister of Magic?" Harry asked them. Ron and Ginny shrugged but he saw the scholarly look in Hermione's eyes and new his rhetorical question was going to be answered anyways.

"Well, they usually do have someone in the transportation unit give the rules to foreigners. But my guess would be that you are such an important person, Harry, that when the minister found out it would be you he decided to tell you the rules himself to make him look good," she finished while looking at the map. Ron and Ginny just shook their heads and smiled. Harry joined her in looking at the map. He saw several small red dots and three highlighted areas, but had no idea what either meant. He started looking around the edge of the map for a legend but once again Hermione answered his questions.

"The red dots are apparition sites and the three yellow areas are magical communities, like Diagon Alley. See this one over here," she pointed to a yellow area on the left side of the map. "This is the home of the Thundelarra Thunderers and this one here is the Woollongong Warriors. I think we should check out this one here, called Aussie-Wand Way. It's closest and the larger of the two on this coast. It's bound to have a hotel of some sort in it, and if we get rooms in a magical area we can still do magic without worrying about breaking the law on accident. We should use this apparition point here," she pointed to a red spot about half a kilometer away from where they were. "We can apparate to Aussie-Wand Way and explore and plan for the day. Harry did you bring any muggle money?" He shook his head and she frowned. "Well, that means we have to walk to the apparition point. Come on." With that she folded the map and began to walk away from them. Ron chuckled and ran up to her and walked with her. Ginny and Harry followed a bit behind them.

The walk didn't take that long and soon they were popping into a loud, bright line of shops and vendors. It was like they had apparated straight into Diagon Alley, but with more kangaroo images and a different accent. Mothers were pulling small children away from colorful displays, teen boys were grouped around the local broomstick shop window, old men were arguing over their ice creams about politics and the latest rise in price on certain potions ingredients, and groups of teen witches were gathered together giggling about the good looking man on a cover of a magazine. Vendors were calling out their wares to passerby and the smells of the restaurants were slightly overlapping and strongly overpowering. What looked to be the center of all the activity was a large black marble building with a sign that said Gringotts over the large double doors.

The foursome headed towards the bank while looking in every direction trying to take in all the sights, sounds, and smells. Harry and Hermione were thinking of their first time to Diagon Alley and reminiscing. Ron and Ginny, who had always known Diagon Alley, were in awe of seeing such a new place. The sights and sounds may have been similar but it was still a new place and they wanted to see it all. They arrived on the steps of the bank and Harry turned to them.

"Okay, guys, I had Bill get enough gold out for me, I'm sure of that. What I need to know is how much muggle money do you think we'll need?" he looked to Hermione as he finished.

"I'm not sure Harry. We'll be using a magical hotel and magical transportation at least for a few days. After we find and fix my parents minds, we could probably stay at their house. I researched this when I had to send them here. One Galleon is equal to eleven dollars and thirty-two cents in Australian currency. So if we want about four-hundred dollars we'd need to change in…thirty-five Galleons, five Sickles, and twenty Knuts." The three of them gaped at her. "What? Oh come on its basic mathematics. Oh never mind. Harry just go in and trade in the money to get about two-hundred dollars. We'll wait out here." Harry shook his head and turned into the doors. While he was gone the other three sat on the steps and watched the commotion of the Way.

Harry came out after ten minutes and they headed down to the road. Ron asked an elderly man where the nearest hotel was and they were pointed down the road about a quarter of a kilometer to a quaint white, wood-shingle-siding building. It had black shutters and a red door. Three dormer windows facing the street and a smokestack on both ends of the roof. A lovely, flower-lined walkway led them to the door, where a sign read the Aussie-Wand Way Walkabout Inn. Ron and Harry smirked and followed the girls inside.

"Duck!" shouted a voice at the foursome. All four whipped out their wands and fell to the floor instantly as a large green ball of fur soared over their heads giggling. Once the green blur had passed they jumped back up and pointed their wands at whoever had shouted. Several people who had been laughing moments before saw the wands and the wand holders in dueling stance and became still, wary of a possible fight, and ready to bolt if necessary. Harry, who had pulled himself to the front of their small group, looked at the small boy who had shouted with a frightening glare. The boy had backed into a woman behind him and darted behind her skirt.

"Now there, he was just havin' some fun. Leave him alone, now. Perry, go gather up Ned and head outside with 'im. You'll be okay, these folks won't do nuthin to ya." The little boy crept over past where they were standing, with lowered wands still in their hands. He grabbed the green ball of fur, which squealed, and took off at a run for the door.

Harry looked back to the woman. He had lowered his wand at the sight of the little boy cowering behind her but had decided to keep it out in sight just in case there were problems. He took in the sight if the woman, noticing that she wasn't so much a woman as a very tall girl about the same age as him. She had dark hair pulled back into a ponytail, dark brown eyes and a small pointy nose. She looked either very tan or was part native and was wearing an ankle long, brown skirt and a black tank top with sandals on her feet. Several bangles adorned her wrists and a decorative necklace of jade and pink amethyst stones around her neck.

She looked at Harry curiously and glanced at his scar. Instead of the trademark gasp and telling him his own name, she grew wary and suspicious. He stepped forward holding out his hand.

"I should apologize. My friends and I are very jumpy. We weren't expecting to nearly get bowled over by a giant green fur ball upon entering the building. My name is Harry Potter, these are my friends Hermione, Ron, and Ginny. Can you help us get a room here?" The girl, hearing that her suspicions were correct about the man before her, blushed at his formalness.

"Well, no I can't help ya, but me dad can. Hold on, I'll go get 'im," she skipped out of the room shouting for her dad leaving Harry and company behind. They stood awkwardly in the lobby waiting, aware of the stares from the others occupying the sitting room next to them. Harry edged away from the stares but before he could completely get away an elderly man with many age spots hobbled over.

"You say your name was Harry Potter?" he asked gruffly. Harry nodded apprehensively. "You're from England?" he asked the whole group. They all nodded again. "So then you'd all have gone to Hogwarts, right?" Once again four heads nodded. "Well, tell me now. Did you have a teacher by the name McGonagall? Minerva McGonagall?" They all looked at each other curiosity peaked, and nodded once more. "How's old Minnie doing then, eh? She still teaching transfiguration?" The four of them all smiled at their stern professor's nickname and nodded once again. "Well, dingo got your tongue's? How is she?" The old man waved them to follow him to a seat. He sat in an old recliner and they took a couch to themselves.

"Well, she actually is Headmistress of Hogwarts now, since Dumbledore died," Harry started. They sat and talked with the old man about having 'Minnie' as a teacher for six years. Hermione and Ron were just starting to tell the old man about McGonagall's battle with Umbridge throughout their fifth year when the girl and her father walked in. Harry left Ron and Hermione to tell the story, reminding them about her adamancy that he get into the Auror program, and he and Ginny walked over to rent the rooms. Ginny noticed the girl trying to catch Harry's eye and decided a silent battle was in order to make sure the girl knew who she was, Harry's girlfriend.

"How many rooms do you want?" the man asked.

"Two," Harry replied.

He didn't notice the silent battle between the girl and Ginny, who had caught the girl staring at Harry.

"How many nights?"

The girl looked at Harry and smiled at him. He caught the smile and briefly smiled back, distracted by the question he had just been asked.

"Er, oh, um. Two or three, I think. Can we add more if we need too?"

Ginny's red ears signified how angry she was. She pulled Harry's hand into hers and smirked at the girl.

"Yes, you can add nights, though we ask for at least a twenty-four hour notice, and we reserve the right to say no. How'll you be paying?"

The girl was glaring at Ginny as Ginny wrapped her arms around Harry's waist and smugly leaned her head onto his shoulder.

"Er, the normal way?"

The girl was getting angrier by the second.

"I mean, muggle money, magic money or muggle credit."

Ginny was smiling at Harry now and shocked him momentarily by sliding her hand into his back pocket of his jeans. He turned and gave her a shocked but pleased look.

"Oh um, then magic money."

The girl was getting so angry she was shaking. Her total focus was on Ginny now.

"Okay, that'll be seven galleons, thirteen sickles and two knuts."

As Harry turned to get into his bag for his money Ginny caught his lips in a kiss. When the kiss ended they heard a door slam and the girl was no where in sight. The man had looked up suddenly and saw his daughter was gone. Harry had grabbed his money and turned to hand it to the man.

"I should apologize for my daughter. Though I'm not quite sure what has gotten into her." Harry looked at Ginny who was smiling innocently.

"It's quite alright, sir, she probably just needed to do something else," Harry responded quickly. The man handed him the keys to the rooms and told him which way to get to them. Harry picked up his and Ginny's bags and called Hermione and Ron over. They all headed up the stairs and found the conjoined rooms and settled in. Harry and Ginny sat on the bed together and Ron and Hermione sat on a couch facing the bed. They all sat thinking quietly for a time before a quiet voice interrupted.

"I can't believe we're on a whole other continent. We're so far from home," Ginny said as she snuggled closer to Harry.

"Yeah, it's hard to believe that just two hours ago we were in Ottery St. Catchpole in Devon. Now we're literally half-way around the world," replied Ron. Hermione sat up and summoned some parchment and a Never-Out quill.

"We should start planning. We need a outline of where we should start looking and how we are going to approach them," she said to the groans of her friends. She ignored them and continued planning out loud. "Okay, we need to find out where all the malls are in Sydney and the surrounding areas. We can look at the directory for each mall and see if any of them have a dentists office run by the Wilkins. When we find out where their office is we can spend the day at that mall watching them and follow them home after they get off work. That should take up all of today and tomorrow, and hopefully by tomorrow night I'll be talking with my parents again!" Hermione was so exited to get to see her parents after almost a year of not being in contact with them that the others just couldn't say no to her when she suggested they get to work.

They headed out to the muggle area of Sydney and searched for malls for several hours. They found three malls in Sydney and one in Manly. The one in Manly was a bust as it was a very small outlet and had no dentists as did two in Sydney. The third mall was the largest of the three and had four dentist offices among the four floors.

"What luck, four offices, four floors, and of course, they have to be on alternating sides of the whole mall," Ron mumbled. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Look, we can eliminate this one," she pointed to the one on the ground level. "Because this one is Oral surgery. This one we can eliminate because it caters to a more cosmetic side of things like dentures and veneers. These two are most likely," she pointed to the ones on floors two and four. She headed off to the escalator and Harry pulled a weary Ginny and Ron behind him. Harry and Hermione had an interesting time getting the Weasley children to ride the escalator and as soon as they did they had an even more interesting time getting them off the moving stairs.

"Hey Ginny, you ride that one back down and see if I can walk _down_ the up one faster. We'll race!" Ron laughed. Ginny ran to the down escalator and Ron positioned himself at the up one. Just he was about to shout go, Hermione grabbed him and pulled him away. At the same time Harry had grabbed Ginny and pulled her away also. The two of them complained but went silent after Hermione told them in a hushed angry voice that people were watching them make fools of themselves. They paired back up and walked across the mall towards the busy dentist office in silence. After a few minutes of silence, Harry snorted which caused Ron and Ginny to start laughing also. Hermione huffed and tried to hide her smile but failed. They finished the walk laughing about the muggle contraption and what they thought Mr. Weasley would have said and done with it. They arrived at the dentist office and stopped. It had a blunt sign, saying Dentist in large red letters above a door that had little white letters saying Dr. Rosin, DDS and Dr. Samsun, DDS.

"Well, I don't think this is it, but lets go in and check anyways," stated Ginny. She began walking in and the others followed. She walked up to the desk and cleared her throat. A stout, elderly woman looked up from her mystery novel with a surprised look.

"Oh, hello. How can I help you? Are you here to make an appointment?" she asked them while taking her glasses off and letting them hang around her neck from the cord they were attached too.

"Yes, we have been looking for a couple who might work here in the mall. We were told that they run a dentists office here. Their names are Granger—"

"Wilkins! Sorry Ginny wrong couple, not the Granger's, the Wilkins'," Hermione cut in. The woman looked at them suspiciously and sighed.

"The Wilkins' work up on floor four. I guess there's no chance that you'll be taking them away now would you? My husband's practice has suffered greatly since they arrived. They are taking all our younger patients from us." The woman huffed and lifted her book up and put her glasses back on as if to end the conversation. Hermione looked a little put out.

"Actually, we came here to help them pack. They'll be leaving the country by the end of the week. If we can, we'll put in a good word for your practice if you'd like. They can refer all their patients to you." The woman looked up in surprise.

"You'd do that for us? I mean, why're they leaving?" she asked.

"Well, I think they were asked by relatives to come home and help take care of an elderly aunt or something," Hermione said. She turned and said over she shoulder, "I'll tell them you can take their patients for them, it'll be a relief for them." They followed her out and practically ran to follow her up two flights of stairs and across the mall once more. They were all breathing heavily as they arrived at a store front much more eye friendly than the other office. The All-Star Smiles: A Family Dentist looked like the kind of place that all kids would want to go to get their teeth looked at. It had bright colors all over the place, life-sized portraits of kids with bright smiles and a large play area with puzzles and blocks and mazes. Kids books and family magazines littered the tables next to the many comfy lobby chairs along one wall. A television was bolted to the wall on one corner and it was playing the popular movie Spice World. A counter was placed off to the side next to a large aquarium with many tropical fish inside. A young man, approximately mid-20's looked up as he heard the bell ring when they entered.

"Hello, welcome to All-Star Smiles, can I help you make an appointment?" Hermione walked over and smiled at him.

"Actually, I'm here to see the Wilkins. I'm a…relative of theirs," she finished lamely. He smiled at her and nodded.

"Well, it's nice to meet the doctors' family. What's your name, I'll run back and tell them you're here." Hermione balked, this wasn't part of her plan. Ron stepped forward.

"Her name's Hermione Granger. They don't actually know her at all, she's a long lost relative actually." The man smiled again. His day just got much more interesting.

"Okay, I'll let them know. You can take a seat if you'd like, I'll be right back," said the man who quickly got up and ran to the back.

"Ron, this wasn't part of my plan. We were supposed to wait till they got off work and then follow them home. We have to leave, now. I don't know if I can hold myself back from reversing the magic right here right now if they come out." Harry, hearing this statement, slowly moved towards her and whipped her wand out of her purse without her knowledge and moved slowly away from her back to where he was before. Ginny and Ron noticed this and shushed her just as the man came back out with Mrs. Wilkins. Hermione sat down suddenly with a glazed look on her face. Mrs. Wilkins looked around at the four of them in surprise. Ron pulled Hermione to her feet and pushed her forward.

"Mrs. Wilkins, this is your, erm, third cousin, I think, Hermione Granger," Ron said pushing Hermione forward. They noticed her hand twitched towards her purse then stop and reach forward to shake hands with her mother.

"Hello," Hermione said shakily. Mrs. Wilkins smiled interestedly and shook hands with Hermione.

"Hello. So third cousin, huh? Do you know the family tree well enough to tell me how we're related?" she asked. Hermione thought and then nodded.

"Um, I think so," she muttered. Suddenly the door opened and the bell rang as a group of people came in and wandered to the desk setting their children down in the play area on the way past.

"Oh, dear. We're a little busy right now it looks like. Why don't my husband and I have you and your…friends?" Hermione nodded. "You and your friends over for dinner tonight. Is that alright?" Hermione nodded. "Okay, well, hang on just a sec and I'll write down our address for you." With a strange glance at her unknown daughter she turned to the desk and wrote on a prescription pad an address and phone number before turning back to them.

"Here you go. Call us if you get lost. We should be home by about six thirty, so you can come by then. Okay? Bye." She rushed back to the back room to help her husband set up for the seven new appointments they had. The foursome wandered back out to the mall area and sat down on a bench.

"Well, Hermione, at least we know your magic worked. She didn't even flinch when she saw you," Ron stated. Hermione sighed.

"Now I just have to worry about if I did too good a job on them and won't be able to reverse it tonight." Hermione got quiet as they sat and watched the goings on around them. After a quarter of an hour of sitting in silence Ginny stood up.

"Okay, my butts getting sore sitting here. Did any of us bring any good clothes to wear to a reunion dinner? I don't think we did. So I say, we go shopping for a few hours. Get some new clothes and a bathing suit and then keep ourselves busy until six thirty tonight. Okay? Okay." She grabbed Harry's hand and began pulling him towards the nearest clothes store. Ron chuckled and stood up pulling Hermione with him. She stopped and so he had to stop as well.

"Ron, I'm really worried. What if I can't change them back?" She looked so despondent and scared that he pulled her into an embrace. They hugged for several minutes until an immature punk yelled at them to get a room. They pulled apart and Ron gave him a glare that made the kid smirk and run off with his little friends.

"Hermione, it'll be fine. You are a great witch, you researched how to do those spells until you could have done them in your sleep. I remember hearing Ginny complaining about your sleep talking and mentioning the spells," he smiled and she sadly chuckled. "But the thing is, I know you'll be able to do this because you never quit. Even if by some bizarre chance you don't get it right the first time, you'll keep at it until you do get it right. Don't worry so much, you'll get it fixed, you'll have your parents back by dinner time tonight. I promise, okay?" She smiled at him and nodded. "Okay, now, let's go find Harry and get some money from him so I can buy you a present and me some food." She laughed and let him pull her towards the store the other two hand gone into.

* * *

A/N: Whew, this chapter was a brat. It was so difficult to get them to Australia. This chapter took like four times longer than it usually takes me to write one chapter. AND it's on the short side. I hate writer's block. Well, Now that they're down under, I'm getting more ideas. Oh, and I used the Mall of America in Minnesota as my basis for a mall plan. If anyone knows Australia or has any ideas let me know, I may like them enough to incorporate them into my story. I know next to nothing about Australia so I'm in research mode. I was going to have them go to the Queen Victoria Building (a mall in Aus.) but when I looked at the website, it looked a little too haute couture for mere teenage wizards and witches, so I invented a mall based off my own experience at the MOA. And yes I live in MN. So I would know that mall well. lol

What did everyone think of Harry's family motto? Fitting, or too fandom-ish? Please Review, constructive criticism is welcome. Please leave a review even if it's only a few words, I'll appreciate it!

And sorry for the long a/n but I need to apologize to my faithful readers for taking so long, I have been having a hell of semester of college, idk if I've said it before now, but I'm taking a science lecture and lab for the first time in like 5 years, and it's kicking my butt. Ie: my first test in the lab 40/100 and yep, I was bummed. But I'm doing better, and my betas are working on the early chaps. So I apologize, life got hectic and I fell behind, (and I am not liking my Australia chaps so far so if you like them, please tell me, it'll make me feel better about them and motivate me to write more.)


	13. He Said, She SaidPRESENTS!

Disclaimer: Not mine, I'm just playing and having a good time.

* * *

_**He Said, She Said…PRESENTS! **_

The teens spent the next four hours in the mall shopping and just being teenagers. The girls dragged the guys to store after store looking for specific items of clothing and accessories while the guys had fun watching the girls model their new clothes for them. Neither guy had known that Hermione or Ginny could be so girly and were shocked that that shirt had to match the shoes and the pants had to match the shirt, and the purse and the shoes had to match but it would look weird if the purse matched the shirt so the shirt and purse had to be accenting colors or contrasting colors depending on the outfit. Both guys got a much needed, but in their opinion unnecessary, fashion lesson and big headaches.

After three hours of sitting on a chair waiting for the girls to decide on their outfits the guys claimed to need a bathroom break and were vaguely pointed to a corner of the store. They headed away to the bathroom together breathing a sigh of relief to be away from purse duty.

"So Harry, I'm thinking I want to buy Hermione a present. What do you think?" Ron asked when they exited the bathroom. He looked around for the girls and spotted them in the same spot they had been in for a half and hour.

"Well, it depends on what you get her and what it means. Oh man, I've been spending too much time in this store. Why don't we both tell the girls that we're going to buy them a present and ask them to meet us somewhere later, okay?" Ron adamantly agreed and they headed over. They each took their girlfriends off to a different isle and made their request.

"Erm, Ginny? Ron wants to buy Hermione a gift, so we're going to head out on our own for a bit. Okay?"

"Hey, Hermione, Harry wants to get my sister a present and asked me for some advice, so I told him we could go off on our own and maybe you could keep Ginny busy for an hour or so. Is that alright?"

"Awe, That's so sweet of him! Harry you better make sure he doesn't blow this. You've got an hour. Then we'll stop and get food."

"Oh, I guess I can keep her busy. But, Ron, make sure he does a good job picking out something good, okay? We'll meet up later."

They converged back into their group of four to agree to meet in the food court in one hour. The guys headed out on their own leaving the girls in the store picking out more clothes.

~~Girls~~

"So Ginny, want to know a secret…Harry's getting you a present! That's why he and Ron wanted to go off on their own for a while. Aren't you exited? I wonder what he's going to get you," Hermione giggled. Ginny looked at her in confusion.

"No, Ron's getting _you_ a gift, Hermione. Harry said so," Ginny said. Hermione and she shared a glance and both got huge smiles on their faces and squealed causing glances from other shoppers.

"Oh, I wonder what they'll get us? Maybe jewelry or…or…I can't even guess I'm so exited!" Ginny yelped excitedly. Hermione was practically bouncing she was so happy.

"Or books! Oh Ginny, should we follow them? See what store they go into, maybe give us an idea of what their thinking. What do you think?" Hermione whispered loudly with a big smile plastered to her face. Ginny looked at her with a devious smiles and nodded. They headed to the front to pay for their purchases and left the store in the direction they saw the guys head. After a few minutes of walking Hermione stopped.

"Ginny, I think we shouldn't follow them. I kind of want to be surprised by my gift. I think we should do something else," she turned to the other girl and gave her a guilty smile. Ginny smiled and nodded slowly.

"I agree, Hermione. Surprises are better. Besides I just had a better idea. Why don't we get a 'present' for the guys." Ginny's eyebrows wiggled suggestively. Hermione hesitated before answering.

"What kind of 'present', Ginny?"

"Well, I couldn't help but notice the swimming pool at the hotel, we could get new bathing suits, I'm sure that'll make the guys happy," Ginny giggled at the thought and Hermione blanched.

"I don't know Ginny, bathing suits? Isn't that a little…risqué? What would your mother think if she saw you trying to seduce Harry with a skimpy swimming suit?" Hermione was hesitant to go anywhere with her friend when she was thinking this way. It could lead them to dangerous water, literally.

"Oh come on, Hermione. I'm not going to seduce him, seriously! It's not like I'm going to be naked, a bathing suit is just another piece of clothing. Please? If you don't want to get one, then just help me pick one out, please?" Ginny begged. She could see Hermione's resolve cracking and pleaded a little bit more. "Harry deserves to act like a normal teenager Hermione. He's never had a girlfriend do something like this for him before, you know he'd like it. If you can't do it for me, then do it for Harry. Help me pick out a nice suit. Besides, if your there, you can tell me if the suits I pick out are too scarlet woman-y. Pretty please with treacle on top?" Hermione sighed and nodded making Ginny squeal once more. They headed off to the store with the swimming suit manikins in the window together, Ginny with a spring in her step and Hermione with hunched shoulders.

~~Guys~~

"So Harry what are you going to get my sister? Better not be anything provocative, I'd hate to have to kill you," joked Ron. The guys had headed one floor down after leaving the girls and were walking down the isle. They had just passed a Victoria's Secret store front and ogled the manikins for a while. Harry had particularly liked the black lacy number he had seen and had hoped Ron didn't notice. Unfortunately, he had and Harry was now paying for it. Harry reached over and shoved Ron who shoved back and resulted in a quick arm punching match.

"Yeah, you kill me? Ha, that's funny! Real hilarious," Harry snarked back. The two faked insults back and forth until they passed a book store. Ron looked at Harry and shrugged.

"Might as well at least look. We both know Hermione loves books, even as gifts," Ron chuckled. Harry smiled and nodded. He knew he wasn't getting Ginny's gift in a bookstore if he wanted to live. But her knew Ron had a point, Hermione was crazy about books. They went in and walked around. Neither had ideas about what kind of muggle books Hermione read so they looked everywhere. After a half an hour of searching Ron spotted a book high on a shelf marked Fantasy. He pointed it out to Harry and he pulled it down. It was titled The Hunter's Moon by O.R. Melling. Ron didn't know why he saw this book out of thousands but for some reason it drew him to it and he knew Hermione would love it. It was a muggle book about fairies in Ireland. It took the muggle side of Hermione's nature and combined it with the magical. The perfect gift. Ron paid for it and a book Harry had found titled Renaissance Swordsmanship: The Illustrated Use of Rapiers and Cut and Thrust Swords by John Clements that looked interesting to him. Harry decided where he was going to go next and dragged Ron off with him. When he got to the right store he left Ron outside reading his new swordsmanship book. He took only fifteen minutes in the store and was out with a small bag. He refused to tell Ron what was in it so Ron had resorted to guessing.

"Is it…earrings?" he asked grinning.

"I'm not telling you," Harry responded dully.

"Is it…expensive?" Ron asked quickly pretending he didn't hear Harry.

"I'm not telling you," Harry said instinctively.

"Is it going to put my gift to shame? Should I go back and get a more expensive gift for Hermione?" Ron began to panic and stopped to look at the book.

"I'm not telling you," Harry said over his shoulder. Ron caught up to him and thought for a moment.

"Is it a RING? Are you going to ask my sister to marry you? Are you insane?" Ron was shouting and drawing attention to them so Harry wheeled around and covered Ron's mouth with his hand.

"Will you shut up? NO it's not a ring! Are you bloody mad?" Harry stopped yelling when he saw Ron's smirk.

"So if it's not a ring what is it?" Harry had been duped and he glared at Ron who's smirk got wider. "What? It got you to answer me. So…what is it?" Harry turned and stomped off away from his best friend and shouted over his shoulder, "I'm not telling you." Ron chuckled and followed along.

~~Girls~~

Meanwhile, in the swimming boutique, Hermione was sitting on a chair outside the fitting rooms waiting for Ginny to try on her seventeenth bathing suit. A pile of rejects was on the floor outside the door where Ginny had been throwing them over the swinging flap as she discarded them. Hermione sighed loudly for what seemed to be the hundredth time that day.

"Oh hush Hermione, I only have a few left to try on then I'll decide. You should have some patience," Ginny giggled from in the tiny room. She was admiring herself in a beautiful black bikini with aqua blue ribbon threaded around the edges. Little blue bows decorated the hips and a blue bow was tied between her breasts. It was _the_ bikini. It fit her perfectly in all the right places, and the black was the perfect contrast against her alabaster skin. She loved it and she knew that Harry would just drool when he saw her in it. Now she just had to get Hermione to agree to let her buy it, then she had to get Hermione to agree that Ron deserved a new treat also. She had already picked out a few swim suits that would look amazing on Hermione and all she had to do was to get her to try them on.

She took a deep breath and opened the door. She saw Hermione's face revealed several different emotions in as many seconds. It ranged from shock, to horror, then to doubt, then to hilarity. Ginny saw the laughter in her eyes and was confused.

"What's so funny?" she asked angrily. Hermione began to laugh.

"I'm sorry Ginny, it's just, I'm picturing Harry and Ron's faces when they see you wearing that! Harry's going to pass out, and Ron's going to be horrified!" As soon as Ginny heard Hermione say 'when' and not 'if' she knew that she could pull this off.

"Ron wouldn't be so horrified by my suit if he's distracted by a pretty brunette wearing one also," Ginny said raising her eyebrows. Hermione's smile disappeared instantly and she began shaking her head. "Oh come on Hermione, what's the matter? Ron would love to see you in a bikini. Why not?" Hermione was biting her bottom lip and shaking her head.

"No. No, Ginny I'm not going to degrade myself by forcing my body into a skimpy little suit, just to please my boyfriend. I won't do it," Hermione said forcefully. Ginny was surprised at her friend. Only moments before she was laughing about the look on her friend and boyfriend's faces upon seeing her in a bikini, but now wearing one was degrading to women. Ginny blinked and stared at Hermione who realized what she had said too late.

"That's not what I meant, Ginny. I'm sorry. I just…" Where Hermione had been mad moments before she was now nearly crying. Ginny saw the jump in emotions and was shocked once more. Hermione never showed her emotions this much and now she was nearly leaking at the eyes. What had happened to her friend over the last year? Ginny walked over to Hermione who had sat down and was sniffling.

"Hermione, what's the matter? Your emotions are a little all over the place. Talk to me, please?" Ginny rubbed Hermione's back.

"It's just so stupid, Ginny. It doesn't even matter. Let's just pay for your suit and go, its almost time for us to meet the guys." She stood up and started grabbing suits off the floor to hang back up.

"Now just you wait Hermione Jane Granger, I am your friend and you are having a problem, I can tell. Now sit your butt back in that chair and talk to me, right now," Ginny said while pulling Hermione back to the loveseat. Hermione was shocked and let herself be pulled. When they were sitting again Hermione took a deep breath and sighed.

"Alright Ginny, if you insist. I'm…just a little self-conscious about my body that's all. I don't think I look good in bathing suits," she huffed and sat back crossing er arms over her chest.

"Is that is, Hermione? You don't think you'll look okay? How do you know if you don't even try? I'm here to help you pick out a good one, and it doesn't _have_ to be a bikini. Just try some on, we still have time. If you really hate them all by the time we have to go, I won't pressure you into buying one. I already picked some out for you, they're sitting on the bench in the fitting room. Please?" Ginny pleaded. Hermione gave in and walked to the fitting room. Ten minutes later the two were standing in front of a mirror looking at Hermione's new swimming suit.

"Wow, Hermione, you look awesome! To use the guys terminology, you are hot! How could you be self-conscious about your body? It's perfect," Ginny gushed.

"Oh shut up Ginny, I'm not perfect, there's no such thing. Besides, I'm not as skinny as you, my hips are too wide, and my breasts aren't as nice as yours. Face it, I don't look good in a bikini," Hermione looked away from the mirror and sighed. Ginny thought fast.

"Hermione, how can you say that? I'm _too_ skinny, my hips are practically non-existent not to mention bony, and my breasts are way too small. You have a body I'd kill for! All those years of lifting bags full of books really toned up your arms, and your legs are a mile long. You know what? I'm buying that suit for you, and you are going to stop sulking. Now get dressed, it's time to go meet our boy-toys for lunch." Ginny walked out of the fitting room leaving a stunned Hermione behind her. After the door closed she turned back to the mirror and looked at herself again. She tried to see herself from anyone else's point of view and see the beauty of her body instead of the imperfections. She began to smile and soon after was dressed and in a better mood. Ginny had done what no one could do for her, made her see herself as a girl, and a pretty one as well.

~~Guys~~

Ron, having given up asking what Ginny's present was, decided on their way to the food court that he needed a special touch to his gift so he dragged Harry into a children's toy store and picked out his addition quickly. He put it into the bag with the book and they headed to the food court with rumbling stomachs.

"Look, there are the girls. Looks like they had fun shopping. Look at all those bags," Ron was muttering as they walked closer. The girls looked up and smiled widely. Then they stood up leaving their bags at the table they had picked out and walked over to the guys.

"Hey, we were thinking we should have tacos for lunch. Ginny said she and Ron have never tried them. Okay?" Hermione stated. Ron looked at Ginny and then at the other two and shrugged. Harry nodded and they walked over to the Mexican place and picked out their food.

After fifteen minutes of non-stop eating the guys had put away ten tacos each and two sodas. The girls ate only two tacos and one soda each before they laid out their plan to the guys.

"Okay, I think, since we still have time before we meet Hermione's parents for dinner, we should go back to the hotel and go swimming. Sound good to everyone else?" Ginny said as she gathered her bags and stood up. Hermione was quick to agree and so the boys followed along and agreed also. The four teens walked out of the mall and to the chosen apparition point and apparated to the guys' hotel room.

"We'll go in our room and change," Ginny said as she pulled her friend to the adjoining door to their room. Harry and Ron quickly found their old bathing suits and were sitting for several long minutes before the door to the girls room creaked open and Ginny poked her head through.

"Okay guys close your eyes, so we can surprise our boyfriends with our own presents. Ron, keep your eyes closed. Harry, eyes closed," Harry felt himself be pushed into a chair. Ron had been sitting on his bed leaning against the head board when his sister ordered him to close his eyes. He didn't know what was going on, all he knew was that the girls were up to something. He felt the bed move as someone crawled onto it by his feet.

"Keep your eyes closed. I'll tell you when you can open them," Hermione said. "We figured out what you guys were up to today. Buying us presents. So we decided to buy you guys a present also. Open your eyes," said Hermione, who was kneeling in front of him, hands clasped in front of her in her lap. Ron opened his eyes and his jaw dropped. This was the best gift he had ever been given.

Harry's eyes nearly bugged out of his head when he saw Ginny in the black and blue bikini. At first glance he thought it was the black lacy thing he had seen at the lingerie store. This one wasn't lacy, but it was way sexier. He saw her blush as his eyes raked over her body. He found himself wanting to maul her and was very grateful that Ron was in the room with them to keep him in line. He stood up and walked over to her.

"That's not nice, Gin. Surprising us like that, it could lead to a tempting situation," he whispered in her ear. She chuckled and glanced over and saw Ron staring at Hermione virtually drooling.

"Well, at least we know that Ron likes his present. See Hermione, I told you he would like it," she said. Hermione looked over her shoulder at her and glared. Ron finally blinked and looked over at Ginny confused.

"Why wouldn't I like it? It's probably the best gift I've ever been given," he said firmly. He looked back to Hermione who had gotten a little worried at his silence. "Hermione you look beautiful. I'm kinda thinking I want to skip the pool and stay here."

"Yeah right," Ginny laughed. "You're both coming down to the pool with us. We're going to swim for a while then come back here and get dressed for dinner with Hermione's parents. Come on," Ginny said as she pulled Harry towards the door. Harry's eyes had not left Ginny's body and she was worried that if they stayed in the privacy of their own rooms, no one would be coming out for a while.

* * *

The pool room was very bright and colorful. A charm had been set in place to allow natural sunlight to come in from the ceiling. It was very warm and bright with many fake plants all over the room in an attempt to make it look more tropical. White deck chairs littered the patio with tables that had colorful umbrellas over them and a small drink station was deserted on the far wall.

Ron, Ginny, and Hermione had all had some sort of swimming lessons at some point in their childhoods. Harry on the other hand only had the Black Lake on his swimming record. So when Ron and Ginny leapt into the pool leaving Hermione and Harry standing there Harry was wary of the crystal blue water. Hermione walked over to a long lawn chair and stretched out after tying up her long hair. Harry joined her in a chair next to her and watched the siblings splash and play for a few minutes. Hermione rubbed sun tan lotion on her legs, arms, and other parts making Harry look away with a blush. She saw his discomfort and giggled.

"Harry, why aren't you in there with them? It looks like fun," she said quietly. He glanced back at her to make sure she was done rubbing before he responded.

"Hermione, I've never had swimming lessons before. I don't know how to swim."

"But what about the Black Lake? You were in there for—"

"That's different," Harry interrupted. "When I was in the lake I had the gillyweed and I was under water the whole time," he finished. Hermione looked thoughtful for a moment. Then stood up and gestured to Harry to do the same. The two of them walked over to the edge of the pool and she called Ron and Ginny over.

"Hey you guys, Harry here needs a few swimming lessons, so why don't you guys teach him. Starting…" she pushed Harry into the pool, "Now." Harry came up spluttering, and floundering. She had pushed him into the area where it wasn't too deep for him to stand.

"Hermione! Why'd you do that? You don't just push someone into the pool! What if it had been deeper, I could have drowned!" Harry was shocked at his usually reserved friend. Ron and Ginny were laughing and Hermione looked smug.

"Well, Harry now you have no choice to learn. You're in the pool and Ginny is an excellent swimmer. She can teach you. Now, Ron come up here and help me with something." Hermione turned and walked back to her chair while Ron pulled himself out of the pool leaving Harry and Ginny staring at each other.

"Well, Harry. First lesson is floating. In order to learn to swim you need to know how to float. So come here. First your going to take a deep breath and lay back onto my hands. I'll hold you afloat until you feel comfortable then all you have to do is make sure your belly button stays above water and keep air in your lungs. Okay?" Ginny had pulled Harry away from the wall and to slightly shallower water. Now the water was at Harry's navel and just under Ginny's chest. They practiced floating for a while until Harry had it under control. It took a while longer than usual because he forgot about keeping his navel above water when she pulled her hands away, because he so enjoyed the feel of her soft, pruney hands on the small of his back.

"Okay, Harry, next lesson. Doggie paddle. This is what it looks like," Ginny swam forward in a less than graceful doggie paddle. "Now you try." Harry attempted the paddle and took a large gulp of water. He stood up suddenly and began choking. Ginny swam over and began patting his back while laughing at his runny nose and red watery eyes.

"S'not funny, Ginny!" Harry coughed. "It really hurts," Harry mumbled which cased Ginny to smiled sympathetically and rub his back slowly.

"Awe, poor Harry. Do you need a break?" Ginny asked mockingly. Harry glared at her and shook his head.

"No, I think I understand that breathing water is only for fishes and people under the influence of gillyweed now. I think I'll try again, thank you." Harry plunged into the water and practiced the doggie paddle for a few minutes until he had it perfected as well. Ginny continued to instruct him on how to elongate his strokes until he was doing a fairly decent breast stroke before Hermione called them back onto the deck area around the pool. Harry had noticed how Ron and Hermione had enjoyed the deck for a while lounging in the sun and rubbing lotion on each other, then taking to the deep end sneaking snogs when they thought no one was looking. It looked very romantic to Harry and he wished he could venture into the deep end with Ginny soon enough. But he figured that the two of them had enough fun today, romance could come later when he gave her his gift.

* * *

The group wandered up the stairs and into their separate rooms to shower and get dressed for the dinner they were headed too later.

Hermione was done first and sat anxiously waiting for her friends to finish getting ready. She continuously reminded them the time and asked them to hurry up, while they patiently agreed and went slightly faster. At six o'clock the four of them were ready to leave.

"Hermione, remember, we aren't allowed to do magic in a muggle area. We have to somehow bring them back here," Harry reminded her. He still had her wand and she had agreed to let him hold onto it for the night. They had all agreed that a nice calm dinner with the Wilkins was a good way to end the day. Hermione had come up with a plausible family tree as she knew her relatives and which ones her parents kept in touch with or not. She decided to call their house before they all left to make sure they both remembered that they were having company and that they were ready for them. All the plans were made as Hermione made the call.

"It's ringing," she said quietly. She waited for several rings and was just about to hang up when her mother answered. "Oh, hello! This is Hermione…Granger. Yes…yes, we are still coming, I was just wondering if you were ready for us…okay…yeah…yeah, no problem…Yeah, pork chops sound great. Mm-hmm…yep…Ok, we'll see you in about twenty minutes…Okay, bye!" Hermione hung up the phone and looked at the group in shock.

"She's making pork chops…" she said as she started to cry. Ginny jumped up and rushed over to her and hugged her. Harry and Ron looked at each other bewildered.

"Awe Hermione it's okay. You'll change them back and everything will be fine. What's wrong with pork chops, do you not like them?" Ginny asked. Hermione began shaking her head.

"No, my mum's pork chops are my favorite food. She said she had a feeling that I'd like them," she muttered as a fresh wave of tears cascaded down her face. Suddenly her tears made sense to them all. Ron gestured to Harry to take Ginny into the other room so he could talk to Hermione. They talked for several long minutes before coming out. Harry had a sneaking suspicion that Ron had done a strong Cheering charm on his girlfriend, but didn't say anything. They all wandered down to the street and out to the muggle area and hailed a cab. The fifteen minute ride was taken in silence.

They arrived in front of a small, white house with blue shutters. It had a small garden in front that was out of season. A walk way led up to the front door which was also blue. Hermione took a deep breath and headed up to the door and knocked. Harry caught up to them after paying the cab driver just as the door was opening.

Mrs. Granger was wearing a black apron over blue jeans and a tee-shirt and she had her hair pulled into a ponytail.

"Come on in! My husband's just finishing up his paper work and will be with us in a moment. How are you all? Oh, where are my manners. I'm Monika Wilkins…and this is Wendell." Mrs. Granger had led them into a small, quaint living room and had sat down next to her husband. The four teens took the couch across from the adults.

"Er, well, I'm Hermione Granger, this is my boyfriend Ron Weasley. Harry is our best friend and Ginny is his girlfriend as well as Ron's sister. We all go to school together in a private school in Scotland." Hermione was talking a little faster than usual.

"Wow, a private school, that's interesting. We have a little time before dinner, why don't tell us a little about how we're related, Hermione," Mrs. Granger said with a smile. Hermione gulped and nodded.

"Oh, okay. Well, Mrs. Wilkins," began Hermione but was interrupted.

"Call me Monika, dear," she said. Hermione nodded.

"Well, Monika, you know your Uncle Henry? Well, he married this woman named Eugenia and when she was pregnant with their only child he had an affair with this lady named Scarlet. The affair lasted the length of Eugenia's pregnancy and when she had their daughter Eleanor he broke it off with Scarlet. What he didn't know was that Scarlet was pregnant now as well. She had a daughter and named her Amy. When Amy was sixteen she got pregnant by a guy named Dan and they had me. So I'm not exactly sure how you'd classify me. But I know we're related," Hermione rattled off this bizarre family tree fast so as to more confuse her parents. They cocked their heads and looked at her weirdly before chuckling.

"Well, dear, I'm not exactly sure how to classify you as well. Something of a second or third cousin twice removed maybe? Anyways, it sure does give an interesting story to tell. Why haven't I ever heard of you before?" asked Mrs. Granger.

"Well, I guess because Eugenia was ashamed of her husband. But since she died recently, my mum has been getting to know her father. Eugenia wouldn't allow my mum, to even meet my grandpa for years. But now she's able to and they're getting along pretty well. When he heard that my friends and I were vacationing here this summer he told me a bit about his family tree and mentioned that you lived here, and asked that we come say hi and tell you what's been going on." As soon as Hermione stopped talking a loud buzzing sound escaped from the kitchen. Mrs. Granger jumped up from her spot and announced dinner was ready. Everyone got up and headed towards the dinning room. Mr. Granger followed his wife to the kitchen to help carry dishes.

After everything was dished up and served to each plate, the guys all dug in and the girls ate more delicately. The food was great. It was easy to see why the pork chops were Hermione's favorite food. Light conversation held through dinner and soon everyone was laughing at jokes from Mr. Granger. Hermione and Ginny insisted on helping clean up after dinner so Harry Ron and Mr. Granger all went to the living room and caught the end of a rugby game on the television. Ron was able to conceal his excitement of seeing a real working teliphbonin as he called it. Harry was able to correct him on the sly to prevent further embarrassment.

The girls were enjoying their time getting to know 'Mrs. Wilkins' while they all cleaned the kitchen.

"Well, Wendell and I moved to Australia about a year ago. It had been our dream to move here and open a family dentist office for years. When we first moved here we were so happy, but lately it just seems that there's something missing, you know? After working with kids and their parents for so long, we've been thinking about our own biological clocks. Now that we have our practice and a lovely home, we feel like we're lacking something vital to our futures. So we've been trying to get pregnant," Mrs. Granger stopped suddenly after hearing a giant crash. Hermione was staring at her mother with side surprised eyes. Ginny was staring at Hermione as Harry, Ron, and Mr. Granger ran into the room. Hermione was surrounded by tiny shards of glass, pork chop bones, and cold mashed potatoes.

"Hermione! Are you okay?" Ginny yelled snapping Hermione out of her daze.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Oh! I'm so sorry! I just…was surprised at what you were talking about, I never really thought…I mean, I've never really had…oh dear, I think I'm stuck here." Hermione was stranded in the center of the room until the glass was cleaned up. Ron gave her a worried glance before being dragged back to the living room by Harry.

Hermione was apologizing profusely about breaking the serving dish, while Ginny and her mother cleaned the floor around her.

"It's alright Hermione. It was old, and it's kind of my fault. I shouldn't have just blurted out that I wanted to get pregnant. For heavens sake, I just met you. I just feel like I've known you for a long time I guess," Mrs. Granger said with a small smile. Hermione smiled back and saw Ginny's smirk.

"I feel the same way. But really, you're trying to get pregnant? For how long?" Hermione, now over the shock of hearing her mother talk about pregnancy, was exited.

"Oh, not for long. Just a few days, a week maybe. Not really a big thing yet."

Conversation went on for a little while longer until the girls went back to the living room. Ginny and Hermione smiled when they saw Ron jumping up and down yelling at the TV. After the game was done, the teens said their goodbyes and they all made plans to get together the next day for an outing. The adults, having lived in Australia for a while were going to give the teens a tour of Sydney over the next few days.

A/N: Ok so this was supposed to be posted yeasterday on halloween, but i got distracted what with an old friend calling up and telling me that he was on leave from the Navy for a couple weeks and wanting to hang out plus another friend calling up and wanting to hangout (haven't seen her in a while, she's been busy with chemo for a brain tumor and i've had school and a crap load of work conflicting schedules we haven't seen each other in like 8 months). then another friend called up from the hospital and said she was in labor, plus my sister and brother decided to have a party/bonfire so we had about 30 people over. I woke up this morning and had about 6 people laying on my living room floor and i didn't know any of them! Plus a tent full of people outside also, but i at least knew a few of them. lol oh well. it was a fun, exiting night! how was everyone else's All Hallows Eve? I was a Vampire from the house of Night series by P.C. and Kristen Cast. Great series! almost better than Twilight! I said almost! don't shoot me bellla! lol I love Halloween!


	14. Restituo Memoria

Disclaimer: HP is not mine, and never will be. I just enjoy reading, writing, and playing in this fantastic world!

A/N: I placed * next to a couple words, the meanings are at the end in the real a/n.

* * *

**_Restituo Memoria_**

The teens woke up the next day bright and early. Hermione and Ginny had gone down to the lobby and gotten pastries and juice for them all and they sat and talked about dinner the night before. Hermione wanted to plan on how they were going to get her parents to Aussie-Wand Way and to the hotel so they could perform the magic required to reverse their memory charms, but Harry didn't know how they could do that. they sat for a long while brainstorming ideas on how to get the 'Wilkins' to the Way but they got more and more elaborate and therefore more and more unusable as time went by.

The Wilkins had invited them to the beach with them after lunch. They were exited to be going to visit the ocean. Harry secretly wanted to get a hold of some gillyweed and go scuba diving on the reef but knew that would be forbidden by Hermione. Too many muggles around to pull a stunt like that.

The morning went by fairly slowly. The foursome decided to go down to the pool and go swimming for a while since Harry felt he needed a little more practice swimming before taking on the ocean. A few hours later they were dressed and ready for the beach. The Wilkins were going to meet them in front of the mall with their car. A quick taxi ride to the mall and a five minute wait and they were crammed into the backseat of the compact car and headed to the beach.

"We know a good spot where the waves are kind of small and the snorkeling is great," Mr. Wilkins said. It was clear that he was exited. "There's a small reef just off the coast that we've explored before. A friend of ours that has a couple kids lent us their gear, so you all will have some gear. We're having a wonderful Indian summer so I don't think the water will be too cold, but be prepared for it to be chilly." He rambled on for a while until a good song came on the radio and his wife turned it up and began singing along. Hermione just sat with a small smile on her face watching her parents joke around with each other. Harry kept stealing kisses from his girlfriend who was situated on his lap. She would giggle and squirm until she could kiss him back. Ron sat smashed against the door with his hand in Hermione's. Every once in a while she'd squeeze his hand and he'd squeeze back.

After a half and hour of driving they pulled around a large grouping of rocks and the magnificent view of the ocean came into sight. The teens were all in awe of the great vastness of it. There were only a few cars near the water, but no one was swimming. A small family with two toddlers was picnicking several yards up the beach, the young father would jump up and run after the kids every few minutes while the wife laughed at him. An older man had a boat on top of his car and was being assisted by a younger male, probably his grandson, to get the boat off the car and to the water. A middle aged couple walked up the beach away from the small crowd holding hands.

The car pulled into its grassy parking space and the teens spilled out of its back seat laughing. Ginny landed on top of Harry giggling and Hermione was laughing at the two of them. Ron chuckled until he realized the two weren't eager to get up as they had begun kissing. He stalked closer intending to pull his sister off Harry, when Hermione pulled him into a kiss which distracted him easily. Mr. and Mrs. Wilkins were laughing at the group while they pulled snorkeling gear out of the truck.

Mr. Wilkins gave the teens a lecture on how to use their gear safely and taught them how to snorkel. They all got into wetsuits and goggles and headed towards the water. The plan was that until the kids got the hang of it, they would stick to two main groups, the girls with Mrs. Wilkins and the guys with her husband. Harry discreetly hid his wand under the arm of his wetsuit and saw that the others did the same.

Snorkeling was something that Harry had wanted to try since he'd spent an hour in the Black Lake. The lake was named as such for a reason because it was very murky and dark, the polar opposite to the ocean. Harry and his friends saw so many new creatures that they didn't know. After a quarter of an hour the groups surfaced and had a quick discussion. It was decided that the teens knew what they were doing and could split into pairs now, they just had to stay with in a certain area and within sight of an adult.

Harry and Ginny swam out a little further and reached a different area of the reef. They were still in sight of the adults but Mr. and Mrs. Wilkins were preoccupied on the surface swimming very close to each other. Harry looked down and saw a large sea turtle swimming a few meters below him. He looked at Ginny and she grinned. They both took a deep breath and dove down kicking their flippered feet hard to fight the floatation device around their necks. They reached the turtle and Harry grabbed onto its shell while Ginny grabbed onto his waist. The turtle, sensing danger, immediately began looking back at them and began to dive. Harry started to run out of breath and let go and began to surface when he saw Ginny flinch and start panicking. She grabbed him and pointed in a direction behind him. When he turned around he became face to face with a large black and white banded sea snake.

Harry froze and began to float slowly upwards. Ginny was behind him slowly running our of air. She saw him rising to the surface and began pulling him by his floatation device, she failed to notice the snake following them. Harry watched the snake follow him and just as he was about to loose control and try to take a breath of water they broke surface. Harry gulped down fresh air for a moment before ducking back under to see where the snake was and came face to face with it again. The snake and Harry broke the surface again at the same time and Harry spit out his snorkel and spoke in Parseltongue.

"Hello, friend. We bring no harm to you. What is your name?" The snake's eyes widened.

"Greetings to you as well, human. My name is Nathraichean*. What is your name and how do you come to speak my tongue?" Nathraichean was a long thin serpent with a somewhat flat body, made to be able to cut through the water fast and easily. He had black and white alternating bands and looked very intimidating.

"My name is Harry, and this is my friend Ginny. I have always been able to speak in your tongue. I am a wizard," Harry said. He figured the serpent didn't need to know his history with the snake language. Ginny watched closely waiting for the time when she would need to call for help. She didn't know what the two were talking about but she was worried until Harry burst out laughing. She heaved a sigh of relief. If Harry was laughing they were in no danger.

"Harry? What are you two talking about?" Ginny asked quietly. Harry turned slightly and hissed to the snake. Then spoke to her.

"Ginny, this is Nathraichean. He is a sea serpent with a very sarcastic wit. You don't have to worry, he was just curious about why we were so far out from the shore. Apparently we are getting close to a nest of snakes and they can get rather hostile if frightened. I told him we'll turn around and head back. We'll have to warn the others." He turned back to the snake and hissed.

"Nathraichean, could you let your family know that there are human swimmers near here and that the humans will cause no harm if near? I will tell my friends that you are nearby and that you will not harm them. Is that alright?" Nathraichean agreed and bowed to the snake speaking human and dove underwater and swam away.

"Well, that was neat. I've never spoken to a wild snake before. Besides, the conjured ones and the one in the zoo, and the stone ones in the chamber, I don't think I've even met a wild one before," Harry said cheerfully.

"Neat? Neat! Harry that was not neat! We both almost drowned and that snake could have bitten us! If you couldn't speak Parseltongue, we would both be dead right now, probably. I can't believe you didn't try to swim away." Ginny ranted while they swam back towards the other group. She shut up about speaking to snakes when the muggles were in hearing distance. Harry warned the others of the snakes and pointed out the area so they could avoid it. Ron and Hermione understood how Harry could suddenly know so much about the whereabouts of the snakes and listened carefully. They knew Harry had probably been in little danger when meeting the snake that told him of the others but Mr. and Mrs. Wilkins were panicked that Harry and Ginny had come so close to being bitten and had everyone stay closer to shore the rest of the afternoon while they paid much closer attention on the kids.

Later, the whole group was back in the cramped car heading back to town. The teens were tired and dozing in the backseat. Mr. and Mrs. Wilkins were smiling and reflecting on how much they enjoyed the day with the four teens. They both knew that something was different about the small group. They were very close, both in their pairs and as a foursome. Harry had a deep, haunted look in his eyes when he thought that no one was looking. He held onto Ginny like he was going to loose her, and when he was caught at it, he smiled apologetically and she kissed him quickly on the temple.

Ron and Hermione on the other hand acted like an old married couple. They argued near constantly but had smiles on their faces most of the time. Most of their jibes and taunts were obviously good natured. When the older couple caught the younger couple snogging in a shallow alcove further up the coast, both couples were embarrassed but the adults felt the urge to reprimand the teens, though they held back. It wasn't their responsibility to mind the teens. If their parents were able to send the two couples away on their own for a vacation like this, then they weren't going to ruin the kids' fun. But if they ever met the kids' parents they would get an earful.

As they were nearing the city, Harry woke up and pointed the car in the direction of the area the teens were staying in. As they neared the hotel the other's woke up as well and everyone made plans to meet up the next day as well. The Wilkins wanted to go see a movie in the afternoon. Harry and Hermione agreed while the Weasley's were skeptical about a muggle film. They had heard stories about films from their muggle-born friends, but seeing one was a different story. The teens waved goodbye and when the car was out of site they apperated to their hotel room.

Ron and Harry flopped onto their beds while the girls chose to sit more gracefully. They were all so exhausted from a long day of swimming that Ron and Hermione fell asleep on each other almost instantly. Ginny was awake enough to go to her room and switch into silky, skimpy pajamas and come back to Harry's bed. Harry had switched into his flannel pajama pants and was sitting up on his bed leaning against the pillows. He was staring at the ceiling half asleep when Ginny crawled into bed next to him and snuggled under the covers.

"Since Hermione deserted me and fell asleep in here, you don't mind, kind sir, if I sleep here next to you tonight do you?" Ginny giggled softly.

"Well, some may call it a burden but I think I can handle a beautiful woman laying next to me all night," Harry chuckled and poked her in the ribs. A quick tickle fight ensued, but the two were so exhausted they decided on a rematch the next day.

"Harry?" Ginny whispered after he turned out the lights. She worried he was asleep already but he answered with a mumble.

"I love you," Ginny whispered to him. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

"I love you too, Gin," he said. "More than I think you even know," he finished quietly a minute later when he heard her soft breathing. He fell asleep with his arms around her and the smell of her hair wafting around them.

* * *

The next morning Harry woke up to something warm pressed up against him. He tightened his arms around it and it squeezed back and sighed. He cracked one eye and saw red. Hair that is. Ginny's hair was splayed across his chest and face and her head was using his shoulder as a pillow. He smiled and looked down at her sleeping figure and watched her sleep for a while. After watching her for a quarter of an hour she slowly woke up and looked up at him and smiled.

"How long have you been watching me?" she asked. He stroked her cheek and shrugged.

"Not too long. You know your beautiful right?" she beamed sleepily at him and chuckled.

"So we're Mr. Romantic today, huh? Well, I hate to disagree with you, but on this I do. I am not remotely beautiful this early in the morning. I have to have a long shower, some toast, and a nice hot cup of tea before I'm ready to be beautiful." Harry smiled, and lifted one eyebrow. "And on that note, I'm getting up and going to shower. Good morning Harry," she said quietly as she stood up and tip-toed out of the room. Harry sighed. She may not think she was beautiful this early in the morning but he disagreed. He tousled hair was cute, and the sleepy half-closed eyes made her look adorably innocent. Harry decided that he loved her most in the early morning, when she was au-natural.

"Hem-hem." Harry heard from across the room. He looked over and saw Ron staring at him with a cocked eyebrow. "I saw that," he muttered.

"Saw what?" Harry asked innocently.

"That blatant display of sickening–oomph." Hermione, who Ron thought was still asleep in the same innocent position Ginny had been in with Harry, had elbowed him in the ribs. "What? He was watching her bum as she left the room! I don't want to see that, especially after they spent the night together. Which by the way, I need to talk to you about. She's my little sister, how could you sleep with her when I was in the same room!" Harry had gotten out of bed and was staring at Ron apoplectically. Before Hermione could say anything Harry let into Ron like Ron had never expected before.

"Ron, let me get one thing clear with you. I might remind you that Hermione, the girl I think of like my own sister, is still laying across you in a bed you two shared all night. I love Ginny. Period. I will never hurt her. One, because it would kill me to see her hurt again. Two, because I know what she can do and I would never piss her off enough to have that Weasley attitude directed at me. Three, because I. Love. Her. Get it into your thick skull, I love her, and I'm never going to hurt her. Got it. We slept together last night in the same bed, just like you and Hermione did. You are being such an unbelievable hypocritical prat if you can't allow me and Ginny to be happy. So next time you see me watching her bum as she leaves the room, ignore it, because you know you'll be watching Hermione's as she leaves the room as well." Harry stormed out of the room in his pajamas to go get breakfast leaving a stunned Ron and Hermione in his wake.

Ron was shocked because half of what he had said had been in jest. Yes he was irritated at having to wake up to see his sister being ogled, but he knew if anyone was worthy of ogling his only sister, it was Harry. He thought his best mate would know he was kidding. Apparently, neither had Hermione. She lit into him as soon as the door had shut. He got a good yelling at for ten minutes before a pounding on the door disrupted her flow. She pulled out her wand and went to the door to see a red Harry standing there, trying to push away a struggling teen who was mauling him trying to get him to kiss her.

"I told you I have a girl friend—Hermione! Save me!" Harry yelped as the girl nearly over powered him. She was crying and attempting to pull him to her level. He was putting up a good fight, and so far had apprehended her effort. Hermione had her wand out and shoved in the girls face in seconds. The girl, Hermione recognized from the information desk from the first day, stopped her struggles and backed off crying.

"I only wanted a quick peck. Your famous it's your job to please your fans. If I had asked for an autograph you'd have done it, why not a simple kiss?" Harry, seeing his chance bolted into the room dragging Hermione with him and slammed the door in the crying girls face.

Harry walked over to the bed and dropped onto it and buried his head in his hands. He groaned and stood up and began pacing. For several minutes Hermione and Ron watched him pace. They could see his neck getting redder and redder and the cogs in his brain working overtime. His breathing quickened in his anger and they waited for him to explode. The tirade came faster than they expected.

"Is that really what people are going to _expect_ from me? To dishonor my relationship, just because I'm famous and I _owe it_ to them? That's outrageous, and…and…the most stupid thing I have ever heard of! It's not my _Job_ to do what they want. If anything the world owes me!" Harry ranted for a while and eventually cooled off. He sat back down and glared off into space. For a few minutes there was silence. Until Ron snorted.

"I'm sorry mate. But the look on your face when you screamed Hermione! Save me!" Ron laughed loudly. Hermione fought a smile but lost. Soon all four were laughing hysterically. Until Ginny came in after her shower.

"What's so funny? Did I miss something?" she smiled at them. All three shut up and had serious, guilty looks. Harry the most pronounced. "What's going on?" Ginny asked sternly.

"Well, Gin, luv. See, I decided to go out and get breakfast for us, and well…do you remember the girl from the info desk? Well, she kind of asked me for something and I…well, told her no. She didn't take it very well." At this comment Ron snorted and muttered 'Understatement' which caused Hermione to snort. Both quickly shut up at the look Harry gave them.

"What did she ask for?" Ginny glared at them. Harry muttered an unintelligible word and Ginny's glare became mutinous.

"If you just said a kiss, and was laughing about it, you are going to have to explain very fast."

"Well, Ginny we weren't laughing at the fact that she asked for a kiss, we were laughing because Harry panicked and needed Hermione to rescue him. He actually said Hermione, save me!" At that Hermione burst out laughing. Ginny saw this and started laughing as well.

"Well, seeing as how you already had to have a girl save you today, I'll let you off the hook. She didn't get a kiss did she?" Harry vehemently shook his head 'no' and she smiled. "Good, I wouldn't want to have to hex her this early in the morning."

The rest of the morning was spent eating, laughing at Harry, getting dressed, and laughing at Harry some more. They met the Wilkins outside the Aussie-Wand Way's entrance and they went to see the movie Deep Impact.

After the movie Ron was chattering away with Ginny and Mr. Wilkins about the comet and how likely the movie was to be true, while Hermione walked with her mum. They all decided to go out to lunch and talk more about England and the kids. Ron and Ginny talked about growing up in a large family, and when the adults found out about Harry being an orphan he told about his childhood briefly. The group left and were walking towards their car when a shout rent the air and made them all turn.

"That's Harry Potter! Mr. Potter, wait!" A small group of teens shouted and began running for them.

Harry panicked and grabbed Ginny and Mr. Wilkins and told the others to go back to the hotel. Hermione saw them disappear and grabbed her mum, shouted to Ron to go and left also. She arrived in the boys room with her mum and saw Harry stun her father who was attempting to escape. Mrs. Wilkins saw the red light hit her husband and began screaming. Ginny turned and stunned her as well just as Ron showed up. No one said anything for several long minutes.

"Hermione," Harry began. "I'm sorry. I panicked, I shouldn't have done that. Now we're going to get in trouble probably for doing magic in front of muggles. I didn't want to stun your dad, he was panicking and I didn't know what to do. If you and Ron hadn't shown up right after us, I would have left to get you." Harry kept rambling until Hermione put her hand up. He stopped talking instantly.

"First of Harry," she started. "We aren't going to get in trouble because we were right in front of the Ministry of Magic building. Second of all, this is the perfect excuse for me to reverse the magic on them. We're in a magical area, so I just have to do the magic to reverse it." Hermione stayed where she was and stared at her parents unmoving bodies laying on the bed. Ron walked over to her and wrapped her in a hug and whispered in her ear.

"You'll do awesome 'Mione. I know you will. You did this you can un-do it. We believe in you, now you have to believe in you." She smiled and hugged him back. She nodded and left the room briefly and came back with a notebook. She opened it and leafed through the pages for several long minutes until she found the entry she was looking for, read through it several times then stood up.

"You guys may need to stand back. This isn't long but it's complicated. Way past NEWT levels. Ron will you stand by me. Harry I need them awake and movable so this is going to be hard. They can't have any spell on them while I do this so they can't be confined but I can't have anyone holding them or I might hit them with the spell." Hermione was thinking hard until Ginny spoke up.

"How about we just conjure some ropes up and tie them to the chairs. The ropes aren't a spell confining them, will that work?" Hermione thought and checked her notes before beaming at her and jumping up to hug her.

"Ginny, you're brilliant! Harry, conjure up some ropes while Ron and Ginny help you tie them to chairs. Someone put up a silencing charm on the room please. I'll Enervate them in a minute." Everyone got to work and in a few minutes the Wilkins were tied to chairs with their heads drooping to their chests. A strong silencing charm on the room assured them of the privacy they would need. Hermione stood before her parents with her wand in her hand. Ron squeezed her hand and she nodded before Enervating them both. She let them wake up and look around before she began talking.

"Mu—Mr. and Mrs. Wilkins, my name is Hermione Granger. I'm you daughter and I'm a witch. A year ago I place a heavy spell on you to take away your memories of me, because you were in danger. I'll explain the rest later but I am going to reverse the spell on you today." Hermione raised her wand and started to make the proper wand movements when her mother shouted to stop. She stopped and waited.

"Why are you doing this to us? We are good people. We just want to live a safe life, we'll give you what you want just please don't kill us! SOME ONE! PLEASE HELP!" Hermione looked down and they saw a tear drop to the ground. Ron squeezed her hand tighter. Soon Mr. Wilkins was yelling too. Hermione waved her wand and both were silenced.

"It's no use screaming, no one will hear you. We've sound proofed the room. this wont hurt you guys, and you wont die. I would never hurt you two." She took a deep breath and reversed the silencing charms. Mrs. Wilkins was crying hard and Mr. Wilkins began pleading with Harry and Ginny to release them. Hermione took a deep breath through her tears and started waving the wand in her hand while saying the beginning spell out loud. No one spoke fluent Latin but the last two words were easy to guess.

"Restituo Memoria*," she finished with a wave in a vague kidney shape. The adults, who had been declaring their love for each other thinking they were about to be killed, dropped their heads to their chests. Hermione collapsed into Ron's arms crying. Harry and Ginny went to the adults to check pulse and eye dilation like Hermione had asked of them before.

"Pulse is strong, and pupils are normal," Ginny said of Mrs. Granger. Harry checked Mr. Granger and concurred. Hermione quieted down and went to her parents. She took a deep breath and Enervated them once more. The two adults looked around blinking until they landed on Hermione.

"Mum? Dad?"

* * *

-_-Meanwhile back in Ottery St. Catchpole-_-

Bill and Fleur had been reveling in their little secret for a week. They knew that Ron and Ginny were in Australia but Bill had made Fleur agree to wait only one week before telling his parents the good news. They decided to apparate to the Burrow a day earlier than planned because of a floo call they had received from Molly. She called to them that Charlie was returning to Romania the next day and they were having a family dinner that night. Bill was able to convince his wife that Charlie was his brother and deserved to be told in person the good news. The couple arrived in the early evening before George and Percy showed up and settled in for an hour before dinner. They had decided to make the announcement during pudding.

"George dear how is the shop coming along?" Molly asked him. He was being awfully quiet so she decided to engage him in conversation.

"Well, it's going okay, I guess. Haven't really come up with anything new. Percy's been a huge help, his potions work is amazing and I don't have to worry too much about the place exploding suddenly if a mistake is made. The Pygmy Puffs are just starting to have more babies, so we'll have a fresh stock of those for the opening. That's it really," he finished quickly. She sighed and moved onto serving pudding with a wave of her wand. She was so preoccupied that she didn't see the glance between her oldest child and his wife.

"Excuse me everyone. Fleur and I would like to say something," Bill said drawing everyone's attention. He glanced over at her and she smiled softly. "Well, we were going to wait another day or so, but since Charlie's leaving tomorrow, we decided to tell you all today. Fleur and I are going to be parents." The stunned silence was for only a few seconds before Molly shouted and jumped up to run around the table to hug them both. She was crying and had to be pulled off of Fleur by Arthur. Bill's brother's were shaking his hand and congratulating him. George actually smiled and laughed when Percy made a joke about the anticipation of an upcoming battle being a great excuse for romance.

Arthur had disappeared into the pantry for a moment and came back with two bottles. He poured six glasses of champagne and one glasses of sparkling apple cider for Fleur and called for a toast.

"Bill, Fleur, congratulations on your new bundle of joy. I hope you have a great time being parents, I know I have enjoyed every minute of it and wouldn't trade it anything. To new life in a peaceful day and age!"

"To new Life!" everyone repeated with tears in their eyes.

* * *

A/N: Ah! A cliffy! Please don't throw rotten fruit at me, I promise I'll post again soon! This is my second shortest chapter…I hope you all enjoyed! It's my birthday today, the big 22! Lol, I seriously do not feel 22 years old. I still live at home with my parents and I'm at school all day long. But I wouldn't change it for the world. I love my family (though my little sister, 20 yr old, has been pissing me off immensely lately) This chapter is dedicated to…well, my cousins' uncle, we weren't related in any way besides he was my aunts uncle-in-law, so my cousins' great uncle. But I saw him at family gatherings and such. He was a cool old guy with a wicked Scandinavian accent. He died two days ago from complications from pneumonia. Unfortunately, his funeral is today. So this chapter is dedicated to him. On a happier note, Today is also Mickey Mouse's b-day! Lol, new little fact for alls you people out there! Just thought it might make you smile a little.

*Nathraichean means Serpent in Indian.

*Restituo Memoria means Restore Memory in Latin.

Please R&R! I'll love you all forever! (I've felt like I haven't been getting that many reviews lately…makes me a little sad…)


	15. Interlude: Draco Malfoy

Disclaimer: It's not mine.

* * *

_**Interlude: Draco Malfoy**_

"Mother! I will not let you do this. Potter is not going to understand. He would never do this for us. Why won't you listen to me?"

"Draco, dear, I have my reasons for sending this letter. I wish you would trust me on this," she sighed loudly. This wasn't the first time they had this fight. It had been only a few weeks since the Dark Lord had been vanquished. They had been arguing about this three times a day for an entire week. Since they had gotten the summons from the Wizengamot.

-_- One week earlier-_-

Britain Ministry of Magic Wizengamot Summons  
Plaintiff: Britain  
Defendant: Draco Malfoy

The above mentioned defendants are hereby summoned to appear at the Britain Ministry of Magic for a court hearing on June the 20th. You will be assigned a barrister to defend you for the crimes listed below.

Being a Death Eater.  
Harboring fellow Death Eaters in your home.  
Attempted Murder of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore on June the 7th, 1997.  
Assisting in the Kidnapping of Luna Lovegood off the Hogwarts Express on December the 20th, 1997.  
Torture of Muggles, Muggle-borns, and Half-bloods.  
Assisting in the Attempted Murder of Harry James Potter, Ronald Bilius Weasley, and Hermione Jane Granger in the Room of Requirement on May the 1st, 1998.  
Fighting in the battle of Hogwarts on the Dark Lord Voldemort's side on May the 1st to the 2nd, 1998.

The defendant will be charged officially on August the 3rd, 1998. If the defendant fails to appear in court, the defendant will be found guilty of all charges and judgment will be made despite the defendants absence.

Sincerely,

Kingsley Shacklebolt  
Interim Minister for Magic  
Head Wizengamot Member  
Head Auror

-_-Present times-_-

"He'll _never_ do it. He hates me as much as I hate him. It's been this way since our first year train ride to school. He will never, ever, do this!" Draco shouted slowly as if speaking to a child.

"Draco, I am not discussing it anymore. You will stop whining, and do as you are told. Now, leave me. I have a letter to write," Narcissa spoke nonchalantly.

"How can you degrade the Malfoy name this way? A true Malfoy would never ask this of our enemy! What if he brings the letter to the Prophet? We'll be a laughing stock in all of Britain! We'll be—" Narcissa interrupted his rant with a glare and a shout.

"Draco! I will not be spoken to like this! I am your mother, you will respect me. I said I was going to write this and no one, not even my own son, will stop me. You say we'll be a laughing stock? We already are, Draco. Look around, we have lost everything! The whole wizarding world is pointing their wands at us and laughing. We are no longer the upstanding citizens we once were. We have no dignity left, so what does it matter if I ask for help? I am NOT letting my _only_ son ROT in prison like his IDIOT FATHER! I will do anything, ANYTHING, to keep you out of prison. I have done wrong with you since your early childhood when I let your father take over your schooling. I will not let it happen again. Do you understand?" Draco mumbled while he glared her way.

"I said, do you understand?" she repeated.

"Yes. I understand perfectly _mother._ If you need me, I'll be in my room. Good day," he said as he turned and attempted to leave with a little decorum.

"Draco, I love you. I don't want to see you suffer the mistakes of your parents. We were both idiots, and I'm sorry. I hope some day, you'll be able to forgive us." Draco had stopped and listened to what she had to say but continued walking away without commenting on her sentiment. Narcissa sighed and wiped away a tear that escaped.

"Oh Draco, my child. What did he do to you? You used to be so sweet and kind," she whispered. Unbeknownst to her Draco had stopped outside the door and stood fuming. He was about to return with a new argument when he heard his mother's whisper and it stopped him in his tracks. It shocked him to hear her talk about the past. Usually she and his father forbid talk like that. It supposedly caused them to live in the past and forget the present and future.

_Blast! Why does she insist we beg for help? I just don't understand it,_ Draco thought to himself. He remembered the times she spoke about. When he was innocent and young, and when he played with his father's albino peacocks in the vast grounds. He remembered his mother singing him softly to sleep and waking up to her smiling face, eager to start a day of fun and excitement.

That all stopped when Father decided to start teaching Draco the importance of blood, political standing, and money. At the mere age of six Draco began his lessons in blood purity and memorizing the upstanding pureblood family trees. At seven, he was taught Political Science and what a dunce Cornelius Fudge was. At age eight, he was taught about the wizarding world and more blood standing lies.

This education continued until he left for Hogwarts. He hated to admit that despite the hateful topics he was being taught, he valued these times because it was the only times his father would spend time with him and treat him like a son and not a distant relative spending time at the manor. He was reluctant to agree with his father's beliefs even at such a young age, but strived for his daddy's approval so he kept his nose the grindstone and learned all the rubbish, memorized all the rubbish spewed to him just for the pat on his shoulder and the 'Good job, son,' he just wanted to hear once. Just once.

Draco turned a bitter shoulder and walked away angrily wiping the tears he fought with all his might. _Maybe mother has a point. Maybe Potter might help. His sickening nobility just might come in handy. I vow that if I can remain out of prison, I'll turn another leaf. I will change the way the world sees the Malfoy name,_ he thought determinedly.

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this. Just a quick little interlude. I'll try a few more later also.

Here's where I ask my faithful readers a little, teensy favor. I am stuck on a part in my newest chapter I'm writing (17) and I would like your help. Not so much a poll as a who ever gives the best idea.

Why would Harry and Ron be under a table together, having a conversation that isn't really important? They don't want to tell anyone why they were under there, and really don't want anyone to find out and I need help to know why. Here's a little preview to get your creative juices flowing.

-_-

Ginny sped down the stairs and into the formal dining room. She marveled at how little the guys had gotten done in the three hours they had been working.

"Harry," she heard her brother start talking from under the table. _What in the name of Merlin is he doing under there? _Ginny thought. "Do you think Hermione has been acting a little weird this morning? She barely would make eye contact with me this morning at breakfast, and then she split us all up." _Hmm, he may not be as dumb as I thought,_ Ginny mused.

"Nah, I think she's just anxious to get home," Harry's voice rose out from under the table as well. _Harry's under there too?! What the hell is going on?_

"What the bloody hell are you two doing under the table?" She heard two loud thuds and saw the large dark maple table bump twice just a little.

-_-

So send me a review or a private message with your idea of why they were under the table, please, and use lots of details! Please also keep it somewhat clean and really funny. I'm anxious to see what some people can come up with! Thank you!


	16. I Don't Need No Money, Fortune or Fame

Disclaimer: Nope still not mine…wish it were. That and Mountain Dew. Can't live with out it…

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**_I Don't Need No Money, Fortune or Fame_**

"Mum? Dad?" Hermione whispered. She looked at her parents that she had pretended to not know for the last few days as they looked around the room in confusion. Their screaming had stopped but the deafening silence was, in a way, worse. The adults looked up at Hermione who was crying and waiting with bated breath.

"Hermione dear…why are we tied to chairs?" her father asked. Hermione fell into Ron after he spoke sobbing with relief. Ron caught her while Harry and Ginny untied Mr. and Mrs. Granger. Hermione launched herself at her parents as soon as they were free. She was crying so hard that her parents looked to Harry and Ron to learn why their daughter was so distraught. The teens shared a glance and Harry gestured for everyone to sit.

"Well, I'm not sure how much Hermione has told you about me or our years at school, but—" Harry broke off when Mr. Granger cleared his throat.

"Actually Harry, she tells us a fair amount, but we get the feeling that she's leaving out a lot more or leaving out important details. We know your parents died when you were young, but not how. We also know that you were in danger after your fourth year but not from what. And now we, I guess you could say, wake up in Australia with our daughter having a break down, I'm sorry if I sound rude but I'd like some answers right now." Mr. Granger was usually a patient man, but it was clear that he was confused and slightly angry. Harry took a deep breath and began talking. He spoke for a long time about his first through sixth year; about Voldemort killing his parents, Sirius dying, and Dumbledore dying.

Hermione had calmed down and was being held by her mother, in-between her parents. She stopped Harry before he started the last year of their travels and told her parents about why she did what she did.

"You two were in danger. Voldemort knew I was a best friend of Harry's and he knew that Harry would risk his life for anyone he knew, whether they were friends or not. Harry can't let others just be killed for no reason, so I decided that since I had promised Harry back in our first year that I wasn't leaving his side no matter what, that I was in this with him. But I needed to protect you guys. I couldn't just leave you alone unprotected because it was a sure thing that Voldemort would have used you to get to me, and me to get to Harry.

"So, I placed very heavy charms on you both to make you both think your greatest dream was to move to Australia and start a Dentist office here You would forget I ever existed and …and…that way if you were found, you couldn't tell anything to them about me. I think that was the hardest part." Her parents were staring agape at her as she spoke.

"I…I sold our house and cars and your practice so it looked like all three of us moved out of the country so you two would be safe." Hermione looked down and began softly crying again when she saw the looks of horror on her parents faces. It took them a few minutes to take it all in and they all sat in silence except for Hermione's sniffles.

"But Hermione, what about your safety over the last year, sweetheart? Where were you?" her mother asked quietly. Hermione looked at Harry pitifully and he continued the story of the last years adventure. Her parents sat in horror over the things her daughter had been apart of while they were obliviously down under living their 'dream' lives. Harry finished with his donation of them staying in his house while they found a new place to live and a new practice, and Mr. Granger broke the silence.

"We can't accept that Harry, it's much too generous. We can always stay at a hotel." Harry stopped him.

"You haven't let me finish. I'd also be paying for your new house and practice because," he held up his hand to stop the adults from speaking again. "Because, I feel like it's my fault Hermione felt that she needed to do this. If it weren't for me, you would still be living in your own home in London. Think of it as a small thank you. If Hermione hadn't been there with me when Ron went to see his family, I would have been alone for several weeks. Hermione was a life saver for me this past year, and all the homework help she has provided over the years. I have lost count of how many times she has saved my bum over the years. Even in our first year, she lit our professor on fire to stop him from jinxing my broom to kill me." At this declaration both parents looked at Hermione shocked. She giggled at the looks and explained a little more before Harry continued.

"I would like to pay Hermione back for all those years of being there, and the only way I can think of doing that is by helping the two people she loves the most."

"Well, Harry, I think my wife and I need to discuss this for a few days. Your only seventeen, it would feel wrong to take this generosity from you when you need the money for your own future. But," he stopped Harry from interrupting. "I will discuss it with her since it sounds like it means a lot to you. Alright?" Harry nodded with a smile. "Alright, I think Margaret and I need to head over to our office and see about closing down. You said we have to be back when?"

"The portkey leaves in four days, Mr. Granger," Harry replied.

"Only four days…That's going to leave a lot of patients in a bad situation." Mr. Granger sat and thought for several minutes before Hermione sat up with a yelp.

"The other dentist office! The one down stairs from you in the mall, we stopped there that first day to see if it was your office. I told them that you two would be coming back to London at the end of the week and I'd let you guys know that they were a good place to send your patience. Maybe you could lease your office to them, and they could sell their shop and use yours!" Hermione said excitedly. Her parents looked at her in confusion and she explained more clearly. After they understood, they thought the idea was a wonderful one and set about to make plans to sell their modest house.

Hermione popped them home and said she'd be back later with their bags, since their stay was soon to be over at the hotel. The two nights they had paid for were over and they hadn't given twenty-four hours notice for another night. So the four were going to stay at the Granger's house for the remainder of their visit. When she got back to the hotel she found a note from the others that they had gone swimming in the pool one last time and to meet them down their when she got back. She changed quickly into her new bikini and practically ran down to the pool.

Harry and Ginny were goofing off in the deeper end, while Ron lounged on a deck chair waiting for Hermione. He was watching his sister and best friend frolic in the blue water with a smile on his face. He may play the over protective brother a lot, but he knew they were happy and wouldn't change that for the world. Hermione saw his smile and his focus and smiled also. She knew her boyfriend was soft-hearted and sensitive deep down when no one was looking, but when she did catch a glimpse it warmed her heart.

She cleared her throat as she walked up and dropped her towel on a chair. She glanced at the pool, then at Ron and said casually, "Last one in's a Flobberworm!" She bolted for the pool before she finished but his long legs overcame her head start easily and he lifted her into his arms as he jumped into the pool carrying her with him. She shrieked before she hit the water and tried to propel herself up but Ron's strong arms wrapped around her and turned her to him. She opened her eyes underwater to see Ron reach in and they kissed underwater. They surfaced only seconds later but each had brilliant smiles on their faces. Harry and Ginny catcalled and whistled, which caused the other few pool goers to laugh and whistle also. Hermione turned beet red but Ron just pulled her close and kissed her again softly on the cheek.

After a few hours of swimming the guys sounded like they had hungry little monsters in their stomachs growling for some food, so they wandered upstairs to get dressed and pick a restaurant to eat at that night. They would be calling the Granger's and letting them know which restaurant to go since the adults had picked out the last one. Ron wanted to try something new, so he looked through the phone book and made suggestions while the others shot them down.

"Burger Time?"

"No, burgers aren't new," replied Hermione who was packing up the rest of her stuff.

"New China Buffet?"

"Just because it says 'New' in the name doesn't mean it is," said Ginny giggling.

"Well, the only other thing in here that I know we haven't tried is Ethiopian food, but—" Hermione interrupted him.

"Actually that sounds kind of tasty. What about you guys? It is definitely a new thing for us." Harry and Ginny nodded while Ron looked skeptical but nodded also. Hermione called her parents and told them where the restaurant was and what time to be there. She finished getting ready and made a few plans while the others finished up. She knew that if they were going to live with her parents for four days, they would have to notify the Ministry so she planned on making a stop there before dinner.

A quick trip that required Hermione to sign some paperwork that said that her parents house was now a magical household for the next five days, and they were off to the restaurant with their shrunken bags in their pockets. They arrived and were seated before the Grangers had arrived, so they chose their drinks and were chatting quietly for several minutes alone.

"Sorry we're late sweetie, the realtor wanted to set up a meeting and it took a little longer than planned," Mrs. Granger said as she leaned over and kissed her daughter on the cheek before sliding into the booth. Her husband sat down next to her and they picked up menus.

"So," said Mr. Granger with a smile. "Who picked African cuisine tonight? It's definitely an interesting choice."

"Well, I said Ethiopian as a joke and Hermione said she thought it sounded good. So here we are. So if it tastes horrible it's Hermione's fault," Ron replied jokingly. Hermione lightly slapped his arm and rolled her eyes. A gesture her parents didn't miss. Mrs. Granger smiled at her husband who raised an eyebrow at Ron. Ron, still as clueless as ever, missed the glance and raised eyebrow though the others didn't. Hermione blushed and Harry and Ginny snickered. Ron continued to ramble on about Bill and Egypt for a while until the waitress showed up. Everyone ordered and the waitress left leaving the table in silence.

"So, Harry, Ginny, you two seem close?" Mrs. Granger said to break the tense quiet.

"Yes, we've been a couple for a few weeks now. We dated a while last school year also," Ginny said glancing at Harry. The confused look on the adults faces prompted the two to explain their relationship past issues. The conversation lasted until the food arrived. Everyone ate in silence for a while savoring the spicy delicacies. After everyone was done and desert had been ordered Mr. Granger cleared his throat.

"Well, Hermione, your mother and I have worked out a deal with a realtor. They will buy our house from us at a cheaper price and we will be able to leave on time with all of you. Tomorrow we will have to go to work and go have a chat with the owners of that other dentist office to see if they'd take over our lease. We may have to pay them so they can pay off their lease though. So tomorrow we are going to be very busy, you and your friends will have to occupy your time together. Okay?" She nodded her head. "We thought you guys could start packing all the stuff in boxes tomorrow for us. It's not exactly exiting but we can do a few other things in the next few days after everything besides necessities are packed. Alright?" The teens agreed and conversation went in another direction for a while longer until Mrs. Granger spoke up.

"We should get going. We have a lot to plan out for the next few days. We also have some beds to make up before you all can go to sleep tonight." She stood up and her husband followed suit. He pulled out his wallet to pay the bill and the teens followed them out to the car.

As soon as they arrived at the Granger's house they all went inside and un-shrunk their bags. The Granger household had one master bedroom, and one smaller bedroom. Harry and Ron graciously forfeited the bedroom to the girls and made camp in the living room. Ron on the longer sofa and Harry scrunched on the loveseat.

"You know Harry, since we'll be here a few days we can switch off the sofas if you want. I feel kind of bad making you sleep on that short sofa," Ron whispered. Harry snorted.

"Ron, if I am having trouble on this sofa you would have an even harder time. You're taller than me by almost thirty centimeters. Although that would look pretty funny you would stick off both ends." Harry and Ron had a quiet laughing fit. "No, mate, I'll be the bigger man and let you have the longer sofa." The two of them half-heartedly carried on a sleepy conversation until they both dropped off into sleep.

* * *

Several uncomfortable hours later Harry was woken up by something tickling his nose. He swiped at the offending tickler and started to fall asleep. A sharp cry and a thud woke him up with a jolt only seconds later. He sat bolt upright to see a pile of blankets moving around next to the other couch and Hermione standing next to it laughing hard enough to turn red and have tears rolling down her face. The pile of blankets swore and began to move more frantically. Harry started to chuckle. He saw that Hermione was going to be no help and neither was his own girlfriend who was laughing just as hard as Hermione, so he stood and walked over to the pile of wriggling blanket and tugged on a corner. Ron flailed when he felt the blanket give way and kicked Harry hard in the shin. Harry swore and hobbled back to his own bed. Ron stood up and kicked the blanket off him. He took one look around and stormed off to the bathroom. Ginny comforted Harry by kissing him on the cheek.

"He didn't mean to kick you. He'll be fine. At least it wasn't a camera this time," she giggled. Hermione calmed down and went to go sooth Ron's ego leaving Harry and Ginny alone in the living room. They decided, after a good morning snog, to tidy up the living room while Ron and Hermione were busy.

"Mr. and Mrs. Granger left a while ago for work. So we're on our own for breakfast. They asked us to start packing or at least organize stuff and they'll bring home some boxes later," she said while they walked to the kitchen. Harry made bacon and eggs for all four of them and he and Ginny were eating and talking about random things when Hermione and Ron walked in holding hands and smiling. Harry and Ginny shared a glance and smirked.

"What ever you two were doing to make up, we don't want to know. We're going to get dressed and start on packing the living room. Hermione that stuff you signed at the Ministry yesterday allows us to use magic here right?" She nodded blushing. "Okay, we'll just conjure up some boxes as we need them alright?" Everyone nodded and Harry and Ginny left the others in the kitchen to eat. They went to their own rooms and got dressed and went back to the living room.

Together they began packing things in the conjured boxes and piling things in the corner. Since Mr. and Mrs. Granger had been sent to Australia without any knowledge of their past, the house was relatively bare except for what they had accrued since their arrival. Books, music tapes, and knick knacks were the main items in the living room along with a few electronics and video tapes. They had an interesting time when they found a box of old records next to a record player in a closet. Harry called Hermione into the room to see if she knew how to set it up. She knew how to set up a few parts and Harry knew how to start it, so they went to work and ended up listening to old music as they worked. After a while a loud shriek escaped from the machine as the music stopped. Harry ran over to stop the noise. Ginny was laughing as she told him to pick another record. He began flipping through the dusty sleeves and found an old Temptations record.

His Aunt Petunia had a slight obsession with the old soul group when he and Dudley were younger and he had memorized all the songs on this particular record while he cleaned the house. He was glad he could finally put some happy memories to this particular song now. He glanced up and saw Ginny cleaning a shelf off and smiled. He placed the record on the machine and set it to one of his favorite songs from his childhood and walked over to her while it started. He hugged her around the middle and she stopped what she was doing to turn and hug him back.

He pulled her hands up around his neck as he placed his on her hips and he began to sway her to the music.

"Harry what are you doing?" she laughed. He smiled as the chorus approached.

"I guess I say, what can make me feel this way? My Girl…" he sang to her. She smiled at him and they danced while he sang to her.

"I don't need no money, Fortune or fame. I've got all the riches, baby, One man can claim. Well I guess you say, what can make me feel this way? My Girl, my girl, my girl, talking about my girl." The song ended and Ginny kissed him. It was one of those stop time kisses that make people weak at the knees.

"I love you Harry. I don't know what I'd do with out you," she whispered. He smiled and kissed her neck.

"I love you too Gin. I feel the same way about you," he whispered back. They continued to dance to a few more songs until Hermione and Ron came out and saw them. Ron and Hermione smirked at each other.

"Well, look at this 'Mione, and they were teasing us earlier. The nerve of them," Ron chuckled. Harry and Ginny continued to dance while she poked her tongue out at her brother and Harry chuckled.

"Actually Ron, we teased you guys since you disappeared and came into the room smiling guiltily. We on the other hand are dancing in the living room, not exactly suggestive," Harry smiled. Hermione laughed and pulled Ron out the middle of the floor and made him dance with her as well. The day spent cleaning became a dance party of four, the cleaning forgotten.

~*~

A few hours later the teens were sitting on the living room floor talking about funny memories when Hermione's parents showed up after work.

"Well, that was a day I would like to forget," Mr. Granger sighed as he sat down in his armchair. Mrs. Granger went to their room to change clothes and freshen up.

"Busy day dad?" Hermione asked with a smile.

"The busiest. How was your day pumpkin? Get a lot of cleaning done?" he closed his eyes while he spoke.

"Kind of. We found an old record player of yours and some records and got a little side tracked. We got some cleaning done though. What did you and mum do all day?" she asked. Ron had snuggled up to, oblivious to the looks Harry and Ginny were giving him and the nudges Hermione was giving him. Harry was chuckling to himself, he had imagined Ron being afraid of showing affection around Hermione's parents but he obviously had no problem with it, either that or he had no idea he was even doing it. Harry's guessed the latter.

"Well, we talked to the owner of the other office and have called many clients to tell them about the 'emergency' back home and that we are selling our practice and telling them about the other practice that they could go to there at the mall. Some of them understood but a few were rather snippy about it all," he finished as his wife entered the room.

"Oh, that Mrs. Kaiser? That woman is horrid, just absolutely maniacal. To tell you the truth I am so glad to be rid of her. That woman practically promised a lawsuit just because I spelled her name wrong. But her children were so nice and well mannered I wondered where they got that until I met Mr. Kaiser and my questions were answered. Such a well mannered man he was, I don't know how he can stand being married to that witch. Oh, ah, I mean, um, woman. Sorry Hermione dear," Mrs. Granger stopped her vent suddenly after she realized what she said. Hermione giggled.

"It's okay, mum. I think we all know what you meant." Her comment made the other teens laugh loudly and Mr. Granger guffaw. Mrs. Granger blinked and looked at her daughter in a whole new light as she laughed as well.

"Well, I'm not sure that's a such a good thing, it means my baby is growing up. But I guess it was inevitable. Now your old enough to help me cook dinner!" Mrs. Granger said excitedly while Hermione groaned. Ginny laughed and pulled her friend to her feet while Mrs. Granger stood up from the armchair of her husbands chair where she had perched herself.

"Come on Hermione, I'll help too," Ginny said.

The three guys sat and watched the nightly news for a half an hour before Mr. Granger turned off the television and cleared his throat.

"Ron, I'd like to have a word if you don't mind," he said quietly so that the woman wouldn't hear from the other room. Ron visibly gulped and Harry saw him pale. He jumped up hurriedly.

"I think I hear Ginny calling me, I'll be right back," said Harry as he practically ran from the room. Ron tried in vain to grab Harry before he left, but missed and ended up falling headfirst into the couch. He slowly sat up and glanced at his girlfriends father who was watching him with an amused smile on his face.

"There's no need to worry, Ron. I can see how happy my daughter is with you. And I must admit, I know she has had a crush on you for several long years. I just want to know how serious _you_ are about _her_," he finished quietly. Ron gulped again and took a deep breath. He thought about his girlfriend and his nervousness evaporated.

"I…I love Hermione. I just didn't realize it until I thought she hated me. I never realized that when I thought of her with another guy and I wanted to pummel the other guy that I was jealous, I just thought I was being protective of my friends. I don't know what I'd do without her," said Ron calmly with a slight blush. Mr. Granger smiled and stood up. Ron stood as well and they shook hands.

"When the time comes to ask her, I think she'll say yes, she loves you a lot, Mr. Weasley. If you ever hurt her, you'll answer to me, wizard or not, no one hurts my baby girl," Mr. Granger said with a smile that scared Ron more than the actual talk that had just happened.

"Oh, don't worry about that Mr. Granger, Hermione knows more curses and jinxes than anyone I know, even Harry. I wouldn't mess with her in a million years, I think that's part of the reason it took me so long to actually ask her out, she can be a little intimidating." Mr. Granger chuckled.

"That she is, son, that she is. Now let's go see if dinner is almost ready," he said as he walked towards the kitchen. As they entered the kitchen they saw Mrs. Granger at the stove stirring a sauce and Harry setting the table while the girls chopped fresh vegetables for the salad.

"Ah, just in time! We're having Garlic Chicken Alfredo with Caesar salad and a delicious Cherubino Viognier white wine. I do believe you are, at least three of you, of age in the wizarding world so I have no problem serving you a good wine. Ginny, I dare say you can keep a secret right?" Mrs. Granger smiled and winked at the only underage witch who smiled back, winked, and zipped her lips. Everyone chuckled and sat down next to their significant other. Harry just happened to sit next to Ron who was planning on getting back at his mate for abandoning him in a time of need. Ron spent the night holding Hermione's hand under the table and plotting his revenge against his best friend.

~*~

Ginny and Hermione kissed their boyfriends good night after watching the popular Titanic on the television after dinner and headed upstairs to their room. They were discussing how unbelievable cute the American muggle Leonardo DiCaprio was in the movie when Mrs. Granger stepped out of her little office and cleared her throat.

"Ah-hem. Hermione could I talk to you for a minute?" Hermione agreed and Ginny went to their room. She walked into her mother's office and shut the door behind her. She saw her mum sitting on the love seat with a mug of tea in her hands and a second steaming mug sitting on the table next to the sofa. Hermione walked over and sat down picking up the tea and breathing in the scent.

"Mmm, chamomile. My favorite," she took a sip of the scalding tea and closed her eyes. Her mother watched her do this and smiled. Her baby really was growing up into a beautiful woman. Hermione opened her eyes and saw her mother watching her. She blushed and giggled.

"What did you want to talk about mum?" she asked.

"Well, dear, I wanted to talk about your boy friend." Hermione's eyes widened and she gulped a big hot gulp of tea to stall. The hot water burning her throat caused her eyes to water and she nearly dropped her mug into her lap.

"Oh, ouch! Oh, hot! Ow!" Mrs. Granger giggled and took the cup from her daughter to avoid the spill. "What about Ron, mum?" Hermione finally asked when she calmed down a moment later.

"Well, dear, I remember you coming home from school for the summer and complaining about Ron this and Ron that. How he acted to you during the Yule Ball and towards Victor. I could tell then you were a little infatuated, but seeing you two together after hearing you say so many times that he was an annoying git, well, call me crazy and overprotective but I want to know how long this has been going on and if he's treating you right." Hermione gaped at her mother.

"Oh. Well, I guess it kind of happened during the final battle. I realized that if we didn't make it through the night, I wanted him to know that I cared for him. I also knew that he would probably never take the first move so I had too. So, we officially became a couple after we woke up and talked the next day. We realized that we both cared for each other so much and we had been denying it since our, well, since the Yule Ball," Hermione finished with a goofy grin on her face.

"So you've only been dating a few weeks? Really? With the way he was acting tonight at dinner and yesterday night, your father and I thought it would have been much longer," Mrs. Granger said thoughtfully with a wide smile.

"What's so funny mum?" Hermione grew suspicious.

"Well, your father took the initiative to speak with Ron tonight before dinner. Remember when Harry came in about to burst he was trying so hard not to laugh? Your father asked Ron to talk in private with him." She laughed at her daughter's horrified look. "Don't worry, he wouldn't tell me what Ron said, but it made your father really happy. I think whatever Ron said was the right thing." Hermione sighed in relief. "But I would like to talk to you about one more thing before you head to bed. Have you and Ron discussed sex?" Hermione turned so red it rivaled any Weasley and wanted to sink into the floor and die right there.

"Er, sex, mum? I, uh, I'd rather not…um, think about that right now. I'm really tired now, can I just go…"

"No, Hermione, we need to have this discussion. You need to know to protect yourself for when you do decide to go the whole way. We raised you to make your own decisions and while I would think you would want to wait until marriage for sex, in this day and age it's not as common. I don't know what kind of protection spells or whatever there might be in your world so I need to tell you about the ones in this world. Condoms, birth control pills, there are many different things…" Hermione sat mortified for another ten minutes listening in horror all the things her mum was talking about. She nearly had coronary when her mum pulled out a banana and a condom from her desk drawer and proceeded to show her the 'proper way' to put it on.

"It's not just the guys responsibility to use preventative measures. You're the one who would have to carry a child for nine months. And if I become a grandmother before you turn twenty-five, you'll be getting a much harder to hear lecture from me and your father. Do you understand?" Hermione nodded weakly with her hands slightly over her face, her wide eyes peeking out between fingers. Her mother smiled and chuckled.

"Okay, then dear, you may go to bed now. Good night sweetie," she called as Hermione ran out of the room. She sat in the room finished her cold tea chuckling to herself remembering her own experience with her own mother about the sex talk. She turned off the lights as she left the room and walked towards her and her husbands bedroom. As she past the girls room, she heard whispering.

"What did she tell you!"

"She gave me the sex talk! Oh Merlin I was so embarrassed!"

"How did she find out? I mean, you and Ron weren't talking about it were you? She didn't, like, over hear you two?"

"No, we haven't talked about it. Have you or Harry?"

"No. Maybe it's just because she's your mother. They know these things, you know. I remember when my dad gave Percy the Talk. He was horrified."

"How was I supposed to tell my mum that Ron and I, that we already…you know? She would have been so disappointed in me. I couldn't have sat there and watched the disappointment in her face. Not after everything I did to her and my dad this past year. I already feel horrible about erasing their memories of me. But to give them all back and then break the news that her only child isn't a child anymore…I couldn't do that. But I love Ron more than anything, should I tell him what my mum said?"

Mrs. Granger had heard enough, she walked back to the office to think a while longer. She was sad that her daughter was growing up but she could see it every time Ron and her daughter shared a glance. They were deeply in love and were meant for each other. She was also glad that her daughter finally had a female friend to confide in.

She thought to herself, _eight years ago this would have never happened. Hermione was always so studious and focused on her studies that she didn't have time for friends. We had to practically push her outside and lock her out to make her get some fresh air, but she always brought a book with her everywhere she went. Instead of running and playing hopscotch, my little girl would sit under a tree with a thick book way above her age level, or sit on the playground swing reading the newspaper after her daddy had left for work. I knew my daughter wasn't exactly a normal little girl, but I loved her all the same and encouraged the little bookworm as much as I could. My little girl, she who, in the same year, advanced from Nancy Drew to Anne Rice and then to the Chronicles of Narnia for goodness sakes! Now my little girl is older, with a boyfriend she loves and has apparently made love with. He better treat her right, she's too good to be hurt like that. No the only questions is…do I tell her father? Hmm, I don't think I will. He wouldn't be able to keep it a secret that we knew. My little girl is all grown up and…and saving the world apparently too._

Mrs. Granger sighed and stood up and went to her bedroom. Her husband was asleep with his medical journal he read every night before bed resting on his chest, snoring away. She smiled. _If she loves Ron as much as I love you, you old fart, they'll be happy for many, many years,_ she thought to herself as she picked up the Journal and turned out the light as she crawled into bed. She leaned over and kissed her husband on the cheek. He rolled over and hugged her in his sleep as she nodded off with a smile on her face. _No matter what, she'll always be my little girl._

* * *

**A/N:** I think I'll end it there, so touching! How about an embarrassing sex talk with mummy! Huh, Huh? Good, embarrassing enough for you all? Good, cuz it's almost word for word the one I experienced with my mom, no joke! Lol and I left out much worse than the banana thing! Lol. Anyways, Happy New Years! I hope everyone's holidays went well, I was going to post this on Christmas but I was really busy. I have officially been working on this story for one year. I remember writing on x-mas last year. I started posting in the summer, but I've been writing for a year now. I know I've been slacking in my posts but for some reason I, against my beliefs that stories should be finished before posting, began posting before I was done writing. I do plan on finishing the story, I got a review from **sithlorde1988** after the last chapter asking why I was not posting anymore. I am going to finish, it's just going to take a little longer than I expected. I am currently still working on getting my earlier chapters beta's first before these ones but it's not going as I thought it would. Writers block doesn't help, so please review, as it gives me fresh motivation. Tell me what you think, please! Happy new years to everyone!


	17. A Day in Sydney

Disclaimer: I do not own anything of the Harry Potter copy write, nor to I own my own island, which is what I would buy if I did own the copy write.

* * *

**_A Day in Sydney_**

The next day dawned bright and crisp. The Granger's left the kids to finish packing with the plan to meet them at the mall for lunch in the food court and then they could go home and finish any packing they hadn't finished in the morning. The morning went slowly as the teens were impatiently throwing things into the boxes pell-mell. Packing was boring and they wanted to do something else after spending nearly a whole day packing the day before and a whole morning packing also. They wanted to finish so they could do something that afternoon. Hermione was thinking of taking the others on a tour of Sydney to see the different museums, and maybe a zoo. But first they had to finish the maddening packing of knick knacks and books and other general clutter.

Hermione had separated the guys and girls to avoid the problem that had happened the day before. No romance was allowed today, she had told them. Not if they wanted some free time. So Ginny and Hermione had taken the upstairs and the guys the downstairs. Hermione had another reason for not wanting to be with Ron all morning. She didn't think she could keep it a secret that her mom had given her the Talk the night before after their romantic evening watching a romantic movie. She needed to think hard about what had been going on between her and Ron and why she, a normally level-headed person, did something so rash as to sleep with someone so soon after starting to date them. It didn't really matter that she and Ron loved each other and had for so long. It just wasn't normal Hermione behavior.

"Okay, spill Hermione. What is going on? You are being way too quiet this morning," Ginny said startling Hermione out of her musings. Hermione sighed.

"I don't know Ginny, I am just wondering if Ron and I rushed things. I mean we got together during the final battle then we ended up sleeping together only two nights later. I just never thought of myself as that type of girl, you know what I mean?"

"Oh, Hermione, you shouldn't worry so much. You know that Ron loves you and always has ever since that damn Mountain Troll incident," Ginny responded with a laugh.

"No, I know that he loves me and I love him, I do. It's just…I think we're moving too fast. But I'm afraid that since I've already been with him that if I say I want to stop and wait a while he'll be mad with me and want to break up—"

"Wait! Wait, Hermione. Ron loves you, he would never break up with you for that! Merlin's pants! Do you really think my brother is that tactless and mean?" Ginny was astounded.

"But he—"

"No, Hermione he isn't like that. He may be a guy, but he loves you enough to respect your wishes. If you tell him you want to stop and wait, he'll complain, and he'll be a pain in your arse, but he wouldn't leave you," Ginny was calming down seeing her friend's hope shine through the doubt. Hermione was finally acting like the girl she was and not the hectic bookworm trying to learn all life's mysteries before she graduated.

"Hermione, I think you and Ron need to sit down and have a nice long talk. If you tell him what you're worrying about, I'm positive he'll understand. Okay? Now, should I go get him or will you send Harry up here?" she asked with a smirk. Hermione turned to her, horrified.

"What, now? Ginny I can't do this now!"

"Why not?" she asked, her smirk widening.

"Because, we're…I'm…I just can't, it's not the right time or place," Hermione finished lamely.

"What's not right about it? Your mum gave you the Talk last night, tell him that and he'll back off right away. I'll go get him now. You wait here," Ginny got up and ran out of the room and down the stairs. Hermione began pacing and worrying even more. What if he breaks it off with her? What if he gets distant? What if he cheats on me?! Thoughts ran rampant through her head as he paced and came up with the perfect conversations and scenarios in her head while she waited. Soon she heard the tell-tale thumping of Ron thundering up the stairs.

"Hermione, where are you? Oh, there you are. Ginny said you needed to talk to me? What's going on?" As she stared at his big, innocent eyes she knew that what she was going to say was going to hurt him and the thought of hurting him caused her to burst out into tears.

"Hermione! What's the matter sweetheart?" Ron rushed forward and embraced her in his big arms.

* * *

Ginny sped down the stairs and into the formal dining room. She marveled at how little the guys had gotten done in the three hours they had been working.

"Harry," she heard her brother start talking from under the table. _What in the name of Merlin is he doing under there? _Ginny thought. "Do you think Hermione has been acting a little weird this morning? She barely would make eye contact with me this morning at breakfast, and then she split us all up." _Hmm, he may not be as dumb as I thought,_ Ginny mused.

"Nah, I think she's just anxious to get home," Harry's voice rose out from under the table as well. _Harry's under there too?! What the hell is going on?_

"What the bloody hell are you two doing under the table?" She heard two loud thuds and saw the large dark maple table bump twice just a little.

"OW! Bloody hell! Oh, Merlin that hurt," Ron cursed.

"Ginny? Why'd you do that? Oh, son of a banshee, that hurt!" Harry emerged from under the table rubbing the top of his head. He glared at Ginny good-naturedly while she laughed hysterically. Ron crawled out and glared up at her which made her laugh harder. The two guys stood rubbing their heads and waiting for her to stop cackling. Finally, she calmed down enough to wipe the tears from her eyes and ask, "So, what were the two of you doing under there?"

"Nothing, it's none of your business, Ginevra. Why are you down here anyways, didn't Hermione banish us?" Ron spat.

"Actually _Ronald,_ Hermione asked me to come down here and get you, she needs to talk to you." Ron gaped at her and turned and left the room without saying anything. As soon as they heard his heavy footsteps going up the stairs Ginny giggled.

"He is so wrapped around her little finger," Harry said.

"Harry?" he turned to her only to see her wiggling her pinky at him in a gesture that clearly said come here. He raised an eyebrow at her and she giggled again.

"So what did Hermione want?" he asked as he walked over to her which made her giggle turn in too open laughter.

"I think that's their business. Now, are you going to tell me what you and my brother were doing under the table together? Or should I be worried?" She batted her eyelashes at him as he balked.

"Oh, god, Ginny! That's just wrong! Ugh, what…where would…good god, get the images out of my head! Ew!" Ginny's laughing spree began again and this time Harry joined her. "That's just so totally wrong Ginny, why would you tease about something like that?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe so I could do this?" she said as she tackled him to the ground and began tickling him mercilessly. After several minutes of Harry squirming under him and laughing breathlessly, she rolled off of him and he lay gasping for breath.

"Are you ready for round two, or are you going to tell what my brother and my boyfriend were doing under a table together?" she asked. Harry cleared his throat.

"Ginny, normally, I would tell you but in this case, I think all parties are better off not knowing. What happened in this kitchen before you showed up, will stay between me and Ron, until the day we die." Ginny gaped at him. He was very serious as he said this but while he watched her face grow shocked and suspicious he burst out laughing. She huffed and sat up. She crossed her arms and sat Indian style on the floor next to him. He sat up also and scooted closer to her to place his arm around her.

"I'm sorry Gin, but you won the tickle fight. I had to say something to get you off me so I could do this," he said just as he finished he began tickling her ruthlessly. She was giggling madly and rolling around trying to escape for several minutes before Harry showed compassion and let her up.

"Tie?" he asked and she nodded, winded from laughing too hard for too long. "To tell you the truth Ginny, Ron and I were just talking. He told me how you guys, all of you, when you wanted to talk privately you'd sit under the kitchen table and just talk. Ron and I haven't really had much chance to talk just the two of us in a long time. And we were both getting bored with packing. So, I said why don't we pull a Merlin from that children's movie and make everything shrink into one box. He had no idea what I was talking about so I said why don't we ask Hermione later. That's about when you came down," he ended. She sighed and laid her head on his chest.

"This is comfortable. I wish we could stay this way forever," she whispered. They sat together on the floor in comfortable silence under the table for a long while before they moved out from under it and resumed packing.

-_- Meanwhile -_-

Ron sat hugging Hermione while she cried, just sat, and didn't speak. He didn't ask her what was wrong, or say it would be okay. He just held her. This act, so unlike how Ron usually was, made Hermione realize how much he must love her and this realization made her feel even more horrible about what she was going to do.

For one brief moment she entertained the idea of just carrying on with Ron the way things had been going. But her rational mind and her conscience wouldn't allow her too. She knew her mum was right when she said that it wasn't only the guys responsibility to protect and prevent. She knew she would feel horrible if they ended up with a child before they were married and ready for a baby. She knew she had to be a responsible adult about this, despite Ron's feelings. She took a deep breath and sighed. Her tears were dried (on Ron's shirt) and her breathing was somewhat back to normal. She was determined to say all she needed to without breaking down again. She just hoped that Ron wouldn't hate after she said her part.

"Ron we need to talk." Ron paled after hearing that sentence. His stomach dropped to his knees. His worst fears were coming to light. If there were a boggart there in the room right now, he would be seeing double. Hermione the boggart breaking up with him and the real Hermione doing the same. His heart started thumping wildly in his chest and his breaking became labored. Hermione was steeling herself to break the ice and wasn't watching Ron, who despite his respiratory and cardiac issues hadn't moved a muscle since the dreaded sentence.

"Ron," Hermione began still not looking at him. "I've been thinking a lot today, and I think we should—"

"Hermione!" Ron shouted. Hermione stopped talking abruptly and finally looked at him. He was visibly panicking. "Please don't do this! Please! Don't break up with me, please? What ever the problem is we can fix it! Should I stop being so clingy, should I be clingier? Should I cut my hair? What do I have to do so you wont do this? I love you, I don't think I can—" Hermione interrupted him by kissing him soundly on the lips. He was so shocked he began pulling away but she grabbed his head and held it firmly. After only a few seconds he began kissing her back. Once she felt him relax, she released his head and pulled away.

"I am _not_ breaking up with you, Ronald," she said firmly. He sighed in obvious relief. "I just want to talk to you about our, ahem, love life."

"Love life? What do you mean?" Ron said with a confused look.

"Our, er, _love_ life," Hermione said pointedly looking at the bed they were sitting on. Ron followed her gaze and dawning showed clearly when he grinned. She sighed and muttered, "Boys."

"What about our se-er, love life?" he asked. Hermione took a deep breath and closed her eyes. When she opened them she looked him right in the eye.

"Ron, I'm going to be blunt alright?" He nodded so she continued. "I want to stop having sex until we're married." There she got it all out without breaking down or blushing like crazy. Now, she just had to wait for him to say something. Anything. She began to get worried when he didn't say anything and just continued to stare at her with a blank look and his mouth partly open. Several moments went by and still he had said nothing.

"Um, Ron? Say something, please? You're worrying me," she mumbled. He blinked and nodded, looking away.

"Huh," he said. She looked at him staring at the floor. Another minute went by before he stood up. He stepped over the window and looked out onto the street. "May I ask why?" he asked calmly. She took yet another deep breath and spoke.

"My mum gave me the sex talk last night. I think she knows." What ever she was going to say this was not what he had expected. He turned and looked at her surprised.

"Really? She knows? Do you think she told your dad? Oh crap. After what he talked to me about last night, I had no idea. Do you think he knew then? I would have thought he would have killed me," Ron chattered incoherently while Hermione pondered the comment about her dad.

"Wait, Ron, you and my dad talked? About what?" she asked curiously.

"Well, it was basically the 'What is your intentions with my only daughter?' speech. I told him I loved you and kind of feared you. So he had no worries about me leaving you or hurting you. That kind of thing," Ron answered casually. Hermione was surprised that he was able to brush off that kind of discussion in such a cavalier way. He really was growing up. A year ago, a _talk_ with a girlfriends father would have sent Ron running in the other direction. Not just running but screaming as well. And waving his arms about and tripping over stuff. The image, literally, running through Hermione's head caused her to giggle. Ron stopped pondering how Mr. Granger was going to kill him when he heard her giggle.

"What? My life ending by your father's hand is funny to you? Here I am a war hero only to die because I pissed off my girlfriend's dad, and you're laughing?" he asked shocked which caused her to laugh harder. As soon as she settled down she explained the funniness of his statement, that of which he found not as humorous as she did.

"So, back to what you said earlier. Why don't you want to, erm, have sex anymore? Did I do something wrong?" Ron asked quietly and all humor escaped the room quickly. Hermione sighed.

"Ron, you've known me for seven years now. Do you think I'm the type of person who would jump into bed with a guy, whether my boyfriend or not, after only a few days of being together? I'm a very rational person, but in this case I think my rational side took a small break out of exhaustion after spending nearly a year on the run. I didn't want to be the normal Hermione anymore the day after the war ended. I wanted to be like every other teenager out there. I wanted to be with the guy I have liked for several years and had deep feeling for. I wanted to rejoice like everyone else that the war was over and we were alive. Relief overcrowded common sense and rational thought escaped me for a while. But talking with my mum last night, I… realized that I've grown up too fast these last three years since Voldemort returned. I grew up fast because I had too, in order to be able to help Harry and you during the last year. I thought I was ready for this level of maturity, but I'm not and I hope you can understand that." Hermione sat looking at her hands because she couldn't look at what she was sure would be Ron's disappointed face. She knew he was going to break up with her but she was determined to not cry again until he left the room.

Ron on the other hand was smiling sadly. He knew exactly what his girlfriend was thinking and it hurt him that she would think him so shallow. Yes, he was a guy, and he tended to think with his smaller 'brain', but that didn't mean he didn't love her all the same after her little speech. In fact, he thought he loved her more. She was willing to sacrifice everything for her beliefs and that is what attracted him to her all along. He walked over to her and sat down next to her and pulled her hand into his.

"Well, I must say that it is a relief to hear you say that, rather than what I thought you were going to say. I am disappointed that you feel this way, but I am glad that you told me instead of just letting it go," he said with a grin. She looked up surprised that he was so calm. She was expecting a ranting, red-faced, ball of anger, not a calm, almost happy face looking down at her.

"You're not mad at me?" she asked quietly. He chuckled.

"No, why would I be mad at you for being the same Hermione I fell in love with? I love you, Hermione, and I hope you never change. If this is what you want, I can wait." Hermione stared at him for several long seconds before tackling him and kissing him hard on the lips. They snogged for a few minutes and she finally let him up.

"Oh, Ron, what did I do to deserve you? I love you too! I thought you were going to hate me, and break up with me. I was so worried, but you are the most amazing boyfriend ever. I love you." She kissed him once more and he chuckled. They lay on the bed next to each other cuddling for a long time before they heard a soft know on the door. They sat up and Ron called come in. Ginny poked her head around the corner and grinned.

"It's almost time to leave for lunch. You two okay now? Looks like you didn't get anymore packing done," she smiled at them. Hermione looked at her watch and gasped.

"We were supposed to leave fifteen minutes ago! Why didn't you come up here sooner?" she said she jumped up and pulled Ron to his feet.

"Actually, I did. You were a little preoccupied and didn't hear me knock. So I figured you needed a little extra time. Harry's waiting downstairs, the cab pulled up a moment ago. We have everything downstairs, we just need to lock up as we leave. Come on," Ginny said as she whipped around and ran down the stairs. Hermione and Ron followed her out the front door after locking it behind them and got into the cab with the other two and they headed to the mall.

* * *

During a quick lunch they learned that it would cost the Granger's a thousand dollars to pay off the Rosin's lease and since they were sending all their clientele to the Rosin's, they didn't have to pay off their lease because the Rosin's would tae care of it for them.

The realtor also wanted a quick look about the house before he made the final agreements to buy the house later that night, so the teens were pressured into returning and finishing the small amount of packing left after lunch. The larger stuff could wait until Hermione's parents were done with the paperwork that night and could help out. The teens decided to hurry home and finish the last of the packing and then they were going to go on a small unofficial tour of Sydney for the afternoon.

Hermione agreed that since they were technically allowed to do magic in her parents house, it would be no problem to close the blinds and magic everything into boxes. Still, it took about an hour to finish all the packing except the furniture and enough dishes and necessities for the remaining few days. Hermione got out a small booklet with the word Sydney across the front in big bold letters and started planning. She picked out several locations for them to discover, including a museum, an art gallery, a zoo, and something she wouldn't tell the others about.

They all dressed in long sleeved shirts and jeans with light jackets on as it was a whopping 24.4 degrees Celsius (76 degrees Fahrenheit) outside, which was slightly unusual for May weather. They hopped on the monorail and went deeper into the city to the Australian Museum.

When they arrived they walked into the large building and heard the ding that signified a guest arriving. A short balding man with the smallest glasses ever perched on his nose came out of a side door that said Personnel Only on it. He walked over to them quickly with a smile on his face.

"Welcome to the Museum of Australia. My name is Ross and I'll be your tour guide this afternoon. How are you today?" Ross said quickly. The teens glanced at each other and smiled. Hermione stepped forward and started talking.

"My name is Hermione Granger, this is Ron Weasley, Harry Potter, and Ginny Weasley. It's nice to meet you." Ross's smile widened and he gestured towards the museums entrance.

"Follow me and we'll get started. Is there anything you are particularly interested in seeing today?" Ross asked looking back at them while he walked. They shrugged and he laughed. Ron poked Ginny and whispered, "Does he remind you of an older cheerier Percy?" She looked at the man, giggled and nodded her head.

"Well, I can tell from your accents that you're not from Australia, so I'm guessing you don't know too much about it? Is that right?" Again they all nodded and he chuckled. "Well I know the first place we'll start. Indigenous Australia," he said as they arrived at a large area covered in pictures and simple art.

"Before Europeans showed up in our great country here in 1788 with their convicts and marines the Indigenous Australians populated the whole continent." Ross gave them a long lecture about the history of the people. Ron was slowly about to fall asleep standing up, and Hermione was eagerly listening and even taking a few notes. Harry and Ginny had begun a pinch and tickle fight behind their backs. Each was trying to get the other to yelp or make a noise, and neither was winning. Soon enough Ross was done talking and they moved on to another area, the historical artifacts of the Indigenous people. Ron saw Harry and Ginny poking each other and when she was least expecting it, poked Hermione in the ribs. She turned around after jumping and dropping her small notebook.

"What?" she hissed. Ron realized his mistake. Hermione actually enjoyed the history lecture, Harry and Ginny didn't. He sighed and replied, "Nothing, sorry, 'Mione." She shook her head and returned to listening to Ross's never ending lecture. He sighed and followed them along. After a while he poked Ginny in the side and whispered to her and Harry.

"Who do you think is worst Binn's, Percy, or this guy?" Ginny started giggling and Harry snorted.

"I don't know, Binn's is pretty bad but this guy is pretty oblivious." Just then a middle aged woman walked up behind them.

"Who is Binn's?" she whispered. Harry, Ron, and Ginny all jumped and spun around. Hermione and Ross continued walking oblivious to the fact that over half their tour party stopped walking.

"Who are you?" Ron asked the woman.

"My name's Charlotte. Bancroft. You can call me Charley. I see you've met my colleague Ross. I don't know who this Binn's person is, but if he's worse than Rossifer then I'm glad I don't know him. What are you four kids doing in a museum on your day off from school?" Charley asked.

"Well, we actually are done with school for the summer. We're on hols from England," Ginny replied.

"Ah, Englanders, aye? Well, I'll rephrase, why are you four kids in a museum on holiday? Why aren't you doing something fun?" she said with a laugh.

"I think this place is fascinating, thank you very much. Why did you guys leave me?" Hermione said angrily from behind them. Ron and the other two shuffled guiltily and didn't say anything.

"I'm sorry, I actually stopped them. This young man dropped something back there. I was returning it to him when we got a little sidetracked introducing ourselves. My name's Charley, or rather Charlotte. But I prefer Charley. What's your name?" Charley said as she pulled a stick out of her sweatshirt pouch. Harry, Ginny, and Hermione all whipped out their wands and Ron searched frantically for his.

"I'm sorry, but I can't wait all…day? What the heck is going on here? Why do you all have sticks?" Ross asked as he came around the corner. Charley pulled another wand out of her pouch and aimed it at Ross.

"Sorry for this Rossifer. Stupefy!" The red stunner sped towards Ross and Harry shouted a Shield spell aimed for the Muggle. The spell bounced off and Ross screamed like a child and fainted anyways.

"Stupefy!" Harry shouted at Charley. She deflected it easily and wordlessly.

"Now really! I'm trying to help! Incarcerous Maxima! There, now you can listen to me without me having to worry you're going to attack. My name is Charley Bancroft, I work here at the museum, in the Magical Community Area. One of you, I'm guessing the red-headed guy, dropped their wands in the entryway. After I fished it out of the trash, when the secretary threw it out, I decided to come find the owner. Now, I'm going to let you free. Please try not attacking me this time, thank you." She released them from the bindings and they stood up. Ron stepped forward and took his wand warily from the woman.

"Thanks," he said. Harry stepped forward.

"Could I ask you something?" Charley nodded.

"What was that spell you used? It tied all four of us up at the same time. I've never seen or heard of anything like it before." Harry, knowing now that they over reacted, was curious but still wary of anyone who could tie them all up like that in one spell.

"Oh, that's easy. Incarcerous Maxima." She waved her wand to show them the movement. "It's just maximizing the binding spell to tie up anyone in the room that's both conscious and not saying the spell. It's not great for someone to use when being attacked by a large group. If one of you had used it, it would have tied up your friends as well. The only person left un-tied is the caster and anyone unconscious." Charley explained as she walked over the older man, still lying on the floor.

"Tsk, tsk. Poor Rossifer. I tried to stun him so he wouldn't see any of this. I'm going to have to Obliviate him also. Damn, this is the fifth time," she sad as she crouched next to him. "Ennervate. Obliviate. Hey Rossifer, come on up you get. What is with you and spiders? See one and you faint like a little girl. Let's get you to the office so you can lie down. I'll finish your shift for you. You guys stay here I'll be back in moment." She walked off half carrying the confused man leaving the teens standing there.

"Well, that was definitely weird. Harry, do you think you're going to get into trouble for doing magic here?" Ginny was still shaking from being tied up so easily that Ron's question rattled her even more.

"Well, that Charley person did her spell also. Hopefully not. She actually did more magic than I did. So I don't think I have to worry too much," Harry replied.

"You're right, I did do more stuff than you. But no worry, this place is registered at the Ministry because we have an area for magic folk. Follow me and I'll show you. Ross told you about the Indigenous Natives right?" They all nodded so she continued talking while they were led through a room and towards a wall with an armoire against it. She waved her wand in front of it and they heard a click. She opened the doors and gestured towards it. They looked at it and saw not a wall on the other side, but a long hallway that had several doors leading off into other places. The teens hesitated and looked at their host.

"Well, I don't have all day. This is the way to the MCAM, Magical Community Area Museum. None of the Muggles know it's here except the curator, and she's a Squib. So come on, before a Muggle comes this way," she whispered as she pulled Ron and Hermione towards the door. Harry and Ginny shrugged and followed.

As they entered the larger room at the end of the hallway they saw several other people standing around looking at the art on the walls and Charley walked off with a colleague. Harry had never seen art on such a large scale before, only during grade school field trips and the Hogwarts paintings, so he was staring at several of the vivid, moving paintings as he pulled Ginny over to him.

"Have you ever been to a magical museum before?" he asked her quietly. She shook her head.

"My parents could never really afford the cover charge for all of us. Charlie and Bill have though. Actually I think Bill sometimes works in museums, after gathering all the stuff from the tombs in Egypt. I've been to some cool places in Egypt on our trip, but none of them were museums. Why?" She was looking at an elaborate sculpture of a man standing casually despite having no clothes on. Harry finally saw what Ginny was ogling and covered her eyes.

"Ginny! Don't look at that! Why would they have something like that here? It's indecent!" Ginny was giggling and trying to uncover her eyes for another gander when Hermione appeared next to them gazing up at the marble statue.

"Oh my goodness! This…that's…Harry do you know who that is? It's David! Michelangelo's David! What is it doing here? I never knew that Michelangelo was a wizard!" Ginny was staring at Hermione with a confused look, and Harry had forgotten to cover her eyes. Ron was ambling towards them when he saw Hermione gazing at the nude monument with reverence.

"Hermione!" he squeaked. "What are you doing? Stop looking at that at once! Why are you looking at _that_?" Ron ran over yelling. His shout drew the eyes of their fellow museum goers. Some looked disgruntled at being disturbed, others, like Charley, looked amused.

"Ron, this statue is famous. I will look at it if I want too," Hermione whispered angrily. "Ginny see how his arms are unusually long? Michelangelo used the same model for the few years it took to sculpt and the young man he started with had a growth spurt before he was finished, so when he was done the proportions were off." Hermione dragged Ginny over to the plaque in front of the effigy and they learned more about it together, leaving Ron and Harry alone.

"Nutters. Who would want to stare at a starkers statue all day long? I mean if it were a female I'd understand, but I guy? Ew? Come on Harry let's leave the girls with their Marble God, Daniel, and look at other stuff. Where'd that Charley girl go?" Ron dragged Harry off towards a door that said History. He figured Ron was too baffled to see where he was headed. He tried to warn Ron, and pull his arm away but Ron had always been the larger and stronger of the two.

Ron pulled Harry into the room and shut the door behind him and sat on the nearest bench. He was muttering under his breath about girls and nudity so he didn't see Charley coming towards them. Harry poked Ron in the ribs and brought him from his musings just as she stopped in front of them and said, "Hello again!"

"Hello. Sorry I didn't introduce myself earlier. I'm Harry Potter, and this is my friend Ron Weasley," Harry said formally. He was still irritated with the woman for startling him with the rope spell.

"Well, hello, Harry Potter, and his friend Ron Weasley. How do you do?" Charley asked just as formally. Ron rolled his eyes. Harry smirked.

"I'm doing well," he said. "How about you?" Charley grinned. She liked this guy.

"I am doing well also. What have you been up too since we last met?" Ron groaned but was highly entertained by his friends banter.

"Well, our girlfriends saw the David statue, and us guys fled. Could you by any chance tell us what room we're in?" Ron shook his head and saw a twinkle in Harry's eyes. He looked bored, but Ron could tell that Charley was moving up on Harry's scale of fondness.

"Well, I can answer your question. You are in the History room. Anyone who comes in here is usually entertained by a monotone voice explaining the history of the Indigenous people and about their magic, and then they are allowed to roam and see all of the arrowheads we have collected. And believe you, me. We have a lot," she grinned. "Would you like the grand tour?" Ron groaned for real this time. He looked around for an exit while Harry answered.

"Well, your friend Ross gave us quite a thrilling lecture earlier. So I think we can skip the history lesson for now. I was actually hoping to run into you again so you could tell me more about their magic, though perhaps without the monotone voice?" Ron groaned once more and Harry elbowed him. "Ron, why don't you go locate Hermione. I'm sure she's love learning about this." Ron perked up and went looking for his girlfriend and sister leaving Harry behind with Charley.

"So, Harry, why's a famous guy like you here in Sydney? Wouldn't you want to go somewhere exiting? Like…Paris?" Harry shrugged. He was getting used to people knowing who he was even halfway across the globe.

"Paris is too close to home. Actually, Ron's girlfriend, Hermione, her parents were here hiding. So we came to get them. Now, we're just waiting for them to sell their house and office and then we plan on going home," he answered. Charley looked interested and sat down on the bench and gestured for him to join her. As he sat he looked closer at her. She was a middle-aged woman, with light, honey brown hair. She had steely-blue eyes, with many laugh lines. She was a medium build with a little bit of pudge around the middle, and only a few inches shorter than Harry, which wasn't saying much.

"Well, that explains why you're in Australia, but why are you in a museum, I'm still wondering," she replied.

"Again, my friend, Hermione. She's very…educational. She likes to learn, and she planned our day today. We aren't spending the whole day here." Right then the others arrived very loudly.

"I will look at whatever I want too Ronald! And you won't say anything about it! Do you understand?" Hermione shouted. Ron was about to shout back when Ginny looked at Harry. He quickly silenced them and stood up.

"You two need to shut up. We are in a public place where people value their quiet. I'm sorry but that was the only way to make you listen. Sorry about that Charley," he said before lifting the spell. Charley just chuckled.

"Well, at least I didn't have to yell at them," she mumbled low enough for Ginny to hear, which caused Ginny to burst out laughing. Hermione glared at them.

"What do you want Harry? This dunderhead just came over and started yelling at me because I was looking at the Venus of Urbino and she just happens to be nude. Now all of a sudden I'm gay! Who is he to say that? I happen to love art!" Hermione started to rant to Harry and he waved his wand and silenced her. As soon as the room was quiet Ron started to speak.

"All I've seen her look at today was naked people! What was I supposed to think? And why are all these so called famous paintings of naked people? That's so disturbing I—" Harry waved his wand once more and Ron was silenced again.

"You two just don't get it. Ron, Hermione loves you. She is not, in any way, gay. Hermione, Ron can be a little shallow sometimes, you know that. I also thought you were smart enough to not _yell_ in a museum. Now both of you knock it off before we get kicked out!" Harry said to the disgruntled silenced duo. The nodded stiffly and Harry once again removed the charm. "Now, Charley was going to tell me about the native people's magic. I thought you would enjoy learning about that Hermione." Hermione suddenly looked much more interested.

"I've been wondering more and more about the natives and their magic. Do they really not use wands?" Charley looked happy to have someone who wanted to know more. She led them to a smaller room that had a projector in the center and several squishy chairs to sit in. They all sat while she started the projector and turned off the lights.

"Yes, Hermione, the native people of Australia do not use wands. There are some tribes who send their children to the magical school in Sydney, and those kids use wands, but there are several tribes who live in the Kakadu National Park and Daintree Park. Those two are the main areas for native magical tribes. They are easily hidden with charms and anti-Muggle spells. They've lived the same way for hundreds of years teaching their magic to their young. Every once in a while a particular child decided they don't want to live in the tribal area so they leave the village and come here to Sydney to learn more about the modern world.

"I help train anyone who wants to learn more than their families can teach them, and help them make the decision of whether they want to return to their village or venture out into the world. If they decide to venture, I have to teach them laws and rules as well as modern technology. I have to teach them about Muggles and the history of the wizards and witches of Australia.

"One tribe that is extremely hard for Muggles to get information on is the Barbaram tribe in Northern Australia. They are one of the only tribes left virtually untouched by modern humans." The teens sat and listened to the surprisingly interesting lecture about the Barbaram tribe and how their magic was an inherent ancestral trait that they believed was something that everyone was born with. The way a parent punished their children for bad behavior was to threaten that the Gods would take away their magic if they didn't listen.

An hour later the four left the museum weighted down with knowledge they would probably never use again. They headed towards a corner café and bought coffees before getting a taxi and going to the Sydney Wildlife World, a zoo in the center of Sydney that showed all of Sydney's native animals. The girls favorite animals were the little Sugar Gliders and the Koala Bears, the guys actually enjoyed the Reptile Habitat and seeing the different lizards. The Thorny Devil and the Frilled-Neck Lizards were their favorites.

They spent a few hours roaming the zoo, oh-ing and ah-ing over the cute and cuddly animals and peering at the scaled and slimy. Hermione pulled them out and told them they had a few more hours before her parents would be home to show the house and they had one more stop. She refused to tell them where they were going and only gave the taxi driver the directions to the newest location. She was bouncing with glee as they arrived at the one and only Luna Park.

"Wait, what's this place called?" Ron asked once more as Hermione finished paying the driver.

"How many times are you going to ask that Ron? Luna…Park. How hard is that to remember?" Ginny spat out sarcastically. Harry was grinning from ear to ear and bouncing from foot to foot.

"An amusement park! Oh, Dudley always got to go to these, and I was never allowed. Then he'd come home and tell me all about the roller-coasters and the food! I've always wanted to come to one!" Ginny was watching Harry amused. She'd never heard of these places but Harry was so exited, and that made her exited. Ron heard Harry mention food and instantly perked up.

"I saw an add for it in the newspaper. Actually the name Luna caught my eye, and I thought it could be fun. Mum and Dad have brought me to a few carnivals, but they aren't as big as this. Though if I am correct the place where the Dursley's are staying has a very large amusement park nearby also. Come on," Hermione giggled as she pulled Ron towards the giant clown mouth. Harry started pulling Ginny and she laughed to see he was almost prancing with giddiness to get inside.

"I want us all to go on the Ferris wheel first, alright? Ron, you can keep me safe since I don't like heights," Hermione said. Ron looked to Harry with a look that said '_a what wheel'_? Harry shrugged and followed Hermione anyways. They stood in line for what felt like forever. Ginny saw the giant 40 meter tall wheel and was very skeptical of venturing up there but Hermione assured her that it was perfectly safe. She hated heights but the Ferris wheel was still her favorite ride. The four got a basket all to themselves and waited for the ride to ascend. During their wait the sun had begun to set and it was getting dark. Hermione had timed their arrival perfectly.

"Ron, look over there! See that sunset? Isn't beautiful?" Hermione whispered. Ron leaned in a kissed her softly on her temple.

"Yeah, beautiful," he whispered, looking at her. She turned her head and locked eyes with him. They both leaned in and shared an amazingly soft, tender kiss. Across from them Harry and Ginny were enjoying the same view of the sun setting over the bay.

"Wow, that's so amazing. It's better than the view from the Owlery." Ginny was cuddled next to Harry and he had his arms wrapped around her. They shared a warm kiss and he sighed.

"I love you Gin," he whispered. She smiled and whispered it back to him. Soon their basket started to descend and Harry glanced over to Ron. The touching moment was over and they grinned at each other after hearing what Hermione said next.

"My dad always rocks they basket and scares the life from me almost. I know these things are safe but it's scary this far up." Ron and Harry grinned. Hermione caught the look and gasped.

"Oh no please, don't!" she yelped a moment too late. The basket began to rock back and forth as Harry and Ron leaned forward and back in time to the swaying. Hermione screamed lightly as the rocking got wider and she saw more and more of the ground and sky with every motion. Ginny was giggling like mad but not helping the boys either. Hermione latched herself on too Ron and refused to let go she was screaming lightly in between hysterical giggles. She had closed her eyes and buried her face in Ron's shoulder. Harry and Ron were laughing uncontrollably and loudly and Ginny was sitting with her hands anchoring her to the wall of the basket and her feet planted firmly on the bottom of the cage; she also was laughing wildly.

"Hey! Stop that rocking up there! Seriously, I'll kick you off if you don't stop!" the ride caretaker shouted from below. Harry and Ron stopped rocking so hard and they enjoyed the few moments it took for their basket to get to the bottom and were asked off. Hermione apologized shakily and pulled Ron towards the exit of the ride. They exited and only were able to get a few feet away before bursting into laughter.

The next ride they went on was the Mighty Mouse. Harry and Ginny paired up and got into the little car and were strapped in. Ginny was feeling nervous about the ride and Harry would have been bouncing in anticipation if the harness would have allowed for the movement. Since it didn't, he settled for bouncing his leg up and down. They listened to the quick garbled rules (keep your hands inside the cart at all times) before they started to slowly moved forward picking up speed.

They began the climb to the top of the ride and once they got to the top the cart went sharply around a corner, extracting a quick, giddy shriek from Ginny and a yelp from Harry, who had been squished for a moment when Ginny slid nearer to him during the turn. A few more turns and a few more shrieks later, a sudden unexpected drop caused Ginny and Harry to both scream loudly and excitedly. They sped towards the ground and back up another hill only to be dropped back down again screaming loudly and laughing wildly all the way. Another hill and another drop before whipping around a sharp curve and a short ride to the end of the rail was very fast before the ride was over and the two stepped out of the cart with wobbly legs and raced for the line once more. Hermione had remained behind with Ron to see what Harry and Ginny had to say about the ride before reluctantly getting in line after them. Ron heard what they had said and was bouncing up and down with a huge smile on his face. He leaned in and whispered to Harry.

"Is it like riding your Firebolt?" Harry glanced around cautiously and whispered back.

"Better!" Ron began hopping up and down excitedly. Hermione saw his excitement and grinned. A fast ride and a nervous stomach was worth it for this man, she thought. Any guy who would give up something for his girlfriends comfort was worth this. Harry and Ginny talked about the ride and allowed Ron and Hermione to cut in front of them. They recalled being able to see the cart in front of them vaguely and wanted to be able to watch their friends if possible. They watched Ron help Hermione get into the cart then get in himself and squeeze the harness over them. The rules were garbled out again and they were off. Harry grinned at Ginny as they got into their cart again.

Ron was exited to be on this ride. Hermione, he knew was afraid of heights, but was willing to try the ride once with him. He was touched that she would join him and promised to hold her hand the whole time. They arrived at the top and whipped around the corner and Hermione screamed bloody murder. At each curve she screamed louder and he squeezed her hand a little tighter. He was enjoying himself and yelping at each curve also. Suddenly, they whipped around and the rail was gone.

Instantly, Ron felt his stomach drop and Hermione began screaming so loudly her voice cracked and no sound escaped. They began dropping at a fast rate and once the cart leveled out Ron could see the track once more and began laughing loudly. He heard a shout behind him and laughed at Ginny's scream and Harry's laughter when they rounded the first curve.

He glanced over at Hermione and saw her pale face still silently screaming at the next drop. She stopped to take a breath and a maniacal laugh escaped her. Ron's heart lightened even more as they reached the third and final peak. She was enjoying this! She screamed and laughed simultaneously on the way down the last hill and he joined her in the laughter. As they pulled into the docking area, she stood up and began pulling him towards the line.

Harry and Ginny joined them for another round, switching partners so Harry was with Hermione and Ginny with Ron, before Ginny decided all that screaming had made her hungry. The two headed off, leaving Ron and Hermione to ride the Mighty Mouse a few more times with a warning from Hermione not to eat too heavily if they planned on riding more rides later. They didn't want to get sick.

As they exited the ride they saw a big screen with pictures on it. They began laughing when they saw a photo of themselves with their mouths agape and wind blown hair, silent screams escaping them. As the screen changed they saw the next photo was of Ron and Hermione, screaming their bloody heads off and holding their hands above their heads just as they were heading down the first hill. Hermione's hair was blowing behind her, and Ron's eyes were squeezed tight against the rush of air hitting them. His mouth was open so wide they could see his tonsils. They shared a loud laugh at the pictures and Harry decided to come back later. The sign said the pictures would be available for a few hours after they were taken. He would come back later, faking a bathroom trip and buy the few photos of them all.

Harry and Ginny headed towards a string a food stands and saw all the different delectables. They decided to go to the Peters Ice-cream Parlour and get some Fairy Floss, a bag of popcorn and a fizzy drink each since they didn't want to get sick on a ride later and they knew that they would have dinner at the Granger's later in the night. The found a bench outside the Mighty Mouse and watched Ron and Hermione continue the ride once more and shared their sugary candy and buttery, salty popcorn.

"Mmm, this is great! I've always wanted to try this stuff," Harry said as he licked his sticky fingers after a particularly large bite of the cotton candy. Ginny picked a piece off and fed it too him and allowed him to suck it off of her fingers. She giggled as he fed her a piece as well. They shared a sticky, warm, sugary kiss together before looking up to see their friends hurrying towards them laughing.

They spent the rest of the night enjoying the different rides and sharing some different treats before they had to head back to the house. Before they left, Harry decided he wanted to try his hand at the games. He tried the basic Milk-cans and the Laughing Clowns games but couldn't win. As they were headed towards the Park exit he saw the Hi-Striker. He walked over and asked the man how it worked and was told all he had to do was hit the bulls-eye and he'd send the ball to the top. How high the ball went determined the type of prize he won. He paid a few dollars to try and he walked up to the platform. He swung the hammer a few times to get the feel of it and finally swung at the plate.

DONG! He won! The ball traveled up to the bell and the man yelled out Bulls-eye! Harry called Ginny over and let her pick out the giant stuffed fox in a bright red that almost matched her own hair color but had bright green marble eyes. She winked at Harry who smiled widely. Ron decided he wanted to win a prize for his girl, so he paid a few bucks and with his bulk was able to win easily. Hermione picked out a giant black panther and hugged Ron tightly.

They all headed towards the exit and called a taxi to take them home. It was a tight squeeze with the four teens and two large stuffed animals, but they managed to get home all in one piece and Harry tipped the cabbie a few extra dollars for the trouble. The teens walked up to the front door laughing and talking about all the fun they'd had.

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A/N: This was one hell of a writers block, but I think I'm through it, and they only have a few more days in Australia. I'm sure you all hate me now. It's been like 15 days since I've updated. I am truly sorry. I've been getting ready for a new semester in college (it will also be my last and I'll finally have my Associates in Fine Arts!)

Not that I'm making excuses but I think that this merits a little pause in updates. Recently I was told that one of my best friends chemo had stopped working and that she had maybe 3 months left. This was right before Christmas. I've been working through that and been really busy with general life. On Tuesday, (less than a month after I got the news) I got a call on my cell and was told my friend had passed away that morning. she's been my friend for so long, it's so weird not having her here anymore. She had brain cancer/tumors for the last four-five years, she fought long and hard, and I'm really sad to see her go, but I know she's at peace now with her Goddess. Every time I see a smiley face now I'll be reminded of how she gave me the nickname Smiley.

I just wanted to tell everyone that I have started a Livejournal, my name is ferret34 you can find it at either my homepage on my ff (dot) net profile or just type in ferret34 (dot) livejournal (dot) com (make sure to change the 'dot's to ( . ) This will be where I'll post stuff about my story, when I'll update, and little things about myself. Please check it out, since I worked hard to make it, and I hope people will use it often.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please, Please! Review!

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	18. Dream a Dream

Disclaimer: Hmm, is it mine yet? No. Is it mine yet? No. Is it mine yet?! NO!

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**A/n:** Aylin, a name towards the end is pronounced A-Lynn, Here are a few quotes I like and seem fitting.

"Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment." – Guatama Siddharta (aka Buddha)

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." –Mark Twain

and finally, "Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue, and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true." –Judy Garland, in Wizard of Oz.

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**_Dream a Dream_**

The four teens walked into the house and found Mr. and Mrs. Granger sitting in the living room together sipping glasses of wine and talking. Hermione asked Harry to shrink the stuffed animals to smaller sizes so they were more manageable and went in to the room and sat next to her father.

"Hello, mum, dad. How was your day?" she asked. They shrugged and her mother replied.

"Well, we no longer have a practice here in Australia. The Rosin's have officially taken over our lease. Tomorrow, if we get the money from the Realtor for the house, we are going to run over to the mall and pay off the Rosin's lease, and we'll be ready to leave," she sighed in exhaustion.

"What happens if you don't get the money?" Ron asked quietly.

"We'll just take the money from our very depleted savings account. We can afford it, we would rather use that money to help us out in London though. The Realtor said that he's pretty sure that they'll take the house though, so we're not too worried." Harry sat quietly thinking.

He knew that he offered to pay for a new house and their practice and cars, he hoped they would take him up on his offer because he had no idea of how to repay Hermione if they didn't. Just as he took a breath to bring up his offer the door bell rang. Mr. Granger stood up and walked over to the door. Mrs. Granger stood also and told the kids they could stay.

"Mr. Caas, so nice to see you again!" Mr. Granger said, introducing the teens to the realtor.

"Wendell, Wendell, how many times must I tell you, call me Bernie, or at least Bernard. We friends right? Where's your lovely wife? Ah there she is, Monika, how are you?" Bernard Caas was an interesting character was the first impression the teens got. He was loud, large, and in charge. Harry thought he looked a bit like his uncle but a little lighter, no mustache, and a deeper, friendlier voice. The second thing the teens noticed was that he had called Mr. and Mrs. Granger, Wendell and Monika. A glance towards the others told Harry that they had caught this also. The adults moved towards the living room after their greetings.

"Bernard, I would like to introduce our house guests. This is Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, and Ron and Ginny Weasley. Hermione here is our…was it great niece three times removed? Or was it third cousin twice removed? Oh well, she's a distant relative of ours." He gave pointed looks to all the kids and they discreetly nodded their understanding.

"Distant relative? That's interesting, where are you four from? Around here?" Bernard asked loudly.

"Well, no, we're from England. We're traveling, and my family told me I had some relatives down here and asked me to visit," Hermione said meekly. She hated pretending her parents weren't hers. Ron placed his arm around her shoulder and squeezed lightly.

"Yes, we also got some bad news as she arrived also. Apparently, Hermione's uncle Henry is very ill and we are needed back home in London to take care of him. Alzheimer's is a nasty disease, poor old man. No one else is able to take him in and no one wants to place him in an old folk's home, so we were asked. We've been getting homesick, so we agreed. Hence the reason you're here Bernard. We need a hasty buy-out of our house. As you can see we'll be leaving in a matter of days, the kids have been helping us pack while they stay here, and we'll all be leaving at the same time." Bernard was looking around the room and nodding. As soon as Mr. Granger finished talking he spoke.

"Why don't we take a walk around the house and talk about your humble abode. I can make the final decisions tonight if you'd like. I will warn you though, hasty buy-outs usually only get about sixty thousand at most." The three adults left the room for the second floor, after telling the kids to cook the frozen pizzas for dinner.

Harry grabbed Ginny's hand and pulled her to the kitchen while Ron did the same for Hermione. They cooked two pizzas at the same time while they chatted.

"That Mighty Mouse was the best, but I think the Flying Saucer was the second best," said Ginny. Harry smiled and shook his head. "What you don't think so? What was your favorite then?" she asked haughtily.

"My favorite was the Ferris wheel," he smiled softly as he spoke. "Then there was the Spider, then the Mighty Mouse, then the Flying Saucer." Ginny looked at him and smiled.

"Yeah, the Ferris wheel was a great one. But I still think the Flying Saucer was better than the Spider. What about you guys?" she asked as she turned to her brother and Hermione.

"Well, I agree with Harry the Ferris wheel was the best, as it's my favorite. But after that I kind of liked the Rotor, Mighty Mouse, and the Ranger. Those were some of my favorites." Hermione looked at Ron and he thought.

"Well, I kind of enjoyed the Ranger as well, but I think the Spider and the Flying Saucer were brilliant. And the food, the food was magnificent!" Ron grinned as his stomach growled for them all to hear. They talked about Luna Park for a while longer until their pizzas were done cooking and they sat in the living room watching a movie while the adults toured the house then disappeared into the den for a while. The movie they were watching was called The Wedding Singer with Adam Sandler.

After the movie was finished the group gathered their dirty dishes and helped clean up the living room and kitchen. Since both rooms were so sparse and empty it didn't take very long. Soon they were sitting in the living room debating over another movie when the den door opened and the three adults left the room, chuckling to themselves.

"Well, you two, I'm glad we met. I hope everything goes well for you in London," Bernard said loudly. He turned to the kids and waved. "It was nice meeting all of you also! Good day!" He walked out the front door waving and whistling.

"How did it go, mum?" Hermione asked. Her parents came in and sat down on the sofa next to Ron and Hermione.

"It went well. He called his partner and they agreed that the house was in well enough condition that they saw no problems on buying it from us tonight. He signed the check to us and we're good to go. Tomorrow, your mum and I are going to run to the mall and pay off the lease on the other office," replied Mr. Granger. He sighed. "Then we'll come home and finish everything that needs to be finished. I know we have another day left but I figure it will take a day to clean this place top to bottom before the Portkey leaves. How does that sound?" The teens looked at each other and all could register the same look: more cleaning. They all sighed at the same time and began giggling. Mr. and Mrs. Granger shared a confused glance and Hermione came to their rescue.

"We spent the last few days before we traveled here cleaning several different houses. Harry's house, the Dursley's and a bit of the Burrow as well. Then came here and began packing this house. We don't mind the cleaning it just seems like it's all we've been doing."

"You can say that again," replied Ron with a chuckle. Harry snorted and Ginny slapped his arm.

"We don't mind a little bit more cleaning. We had our fun today," Ginny told Hermione's parents.

"What did you kids get up too today? You weren't home when we got here," Mrs. Granger said tiredly.

"We went around Sydney after we finished the packing. We went to a museum, and found out that they were joined with the magical museum and art gallery of Sydney. Then, we went to a zoo. I really wanted to hug a Koala bear. Then we went to Luna Park for the late afternoon and evening. See what Ron won me!" Hermione said as she whipped out her panther and un-shrunk it.

"Yeah, and Harry won me a giant fox. We had such a great time on all the rides. Hermione and Ron went on the Mighty Mouse so many times they finally got kicked off!" Ginny was laughing at the memory. Mr. and Mrs. Granger looked at their daughter in surprise.

"We've never been able to get her on the big roller-coasters. The only ride she ever goes on is the Ferris wheel and that's only if I give her my word that I wont rock the basket. How'd you get her on them?" Mr. Granger asked with a stunned look on his face.

"I asked her too. She was a little reluctant but after that first ride…" Ron began looking at his girlfriend. He was obviously surprised at what Mr. Granger was saying. Hermione had no problem after that first ride. In fact she was the one who got them kicked off the Mighty Mouse in the first place because she wanted to ride it so many times.

"I had no problems. I realized that as long as Ron was with me, I had nothing to fear. Besides, that ride on the dragon a few weeks ago kind of stomped on my fear of heights a little. I still am not getting on any brooms, but roller coasters I'm strapped into shouldn't be a problem anymore." She smiled at Ron who smiled back.

"Dragon?" Mrs. Granger asked weakly. She had seen her daughters books on magical creatures and the dragons in them looked ferocious and dangerous. Hermione and Ron looked at each other then at Harry before they all burst out laughing. Ginny patted Mrs. Granger on the arm.

"It's okay. I was shocked as well. Why don't I tell you what happened, with Harry's help, while Ron and Hermione go make you two a pizza, alright?" They all jumped to attention and spent the next hour regaling the adults of their adventures of the last year. Harry had covered most of the boring important things when the memory charms had been reversed but now the kids thought they'd share the exiting stuff.

* * *

A while later, pizza leftovers were taken care of and story time was over. The kids were tired after their long day of exploring and packing and they were getting ready for bed. Harry was lengthening the sofa he was using so that he could fit onto it better when Mr. and Mrs. Granger walked into the room.

"Harry may we speak to you, please? In the den?" Harry looked for Ron and saw that he was using the bath room so he shrugged and followed them down the hall. They arrived in the room and say down on the comfy sofas together and passed around cups of tea.

"Harry, we've been talking about your offer to buy us a new house. We understand that you feel the need to thank our daughter by doing something nice for us, but we are having a hard time feeling comfortable taking your generosity like this." Harry made to open his mouth to speak but he was interrupted. "Please, let us finish. We know that you said you wanted us to stay at your home until we can find a new place to live, and we think that is enough to offer. It may take a few weeks for us to find a place, but we want you to know that we will be working hard to locate a new house or maybe a flat, since Hermione wont be staying with us much longer. And we can provide food for ourselves also. We don't want you to spend your money on us. Alright?" Mr. Granger finished his speech and sat back holding his cup of chamomile. Harry looked between the two adults in front of him and thought.

"If you don't mind my asking, how much money do you have saved?" he asked quietly and as inoffensively as he could. Mr. and Mrs. Granger looked at each other and nodded.

"With the check we got today, seventy-eight thousand pounds."

"Well, from what I understand you would be able to make a down payment on a house or a flat with that. But what about a vehicle or an office? You probably wouldn't be able to afford those necessities after buying a home. I understand that you don't feel comfortable taking my money, but what I think you don't really understand is that I can easily afford it. My parents and godfather left me with enough money that I, and my children, wouldn't have to work for a living. I don't know the exact figure, but I know that I'm well off. Well off enough that I don't think a Muggle house and car would hardly make a dent." Harry watched their eyes go rounder as he spoke.

"We still think we'd feel like we were taking advantage of you, Harry," Mrs. Granger said. Harry thought for a long while contemplating a way to get them to accept he ideas. Finally, and idea hit him like a ton of bricks.

"A business deal," he said quickly. He thought he heard a very quiet whispered profanity and a slap but blew it off to finish his idea. "How about we make a deal. You buy your own home, but I help buy the vehicle and the location for your new business. I'll also help buy equipment and supplies, and in exchange you make me a partner in your business. How about that? That way you can pay me back when you make a profit. When you feel that I've been paid back enough, I'll sign over my share of the profits to you guys." Harry finished feeling very proud of himself. Mr. and Mrs. Granger looked at each other and sighed. Mr. Granger looked at Harry.

"Well, Harry it looks like your not going to be swayed as easily as we thought. We'll think about your offer a bit longer and discuss it with you after you return from getting your relatives, alright?" Harry grinned and nodded. As he stood up to leave he stopped.

"I think I should let you know, I've done this with Ron and Ginny's twin brothers Fred and George. They wanted to open a Joke shop to sell their inventions and joke products. I gave them the money for a start up, and they've paid me back in full and made me a partner. So, the money I'd be using to help you with, wouldn't just be my inheritance, some of it would be my own money to spend the way I want to. Good night." Harry left the room and headed towards the living room. Just as he arrived he saw Ron, Ginny and Hermione hastily drop onto the sofas out of breath. He shook his head and grinned. Ron began laughing as well as Ginny when they saw his grin.

"How much?" Harry asked.

"Two galleons to me. I had faith in you mate," Ron replied. Harry was confused.

"I meant how much did you hear? Wait, you bet on whether I'd…what? Convince them?" Harry asked getting even more confused.

"Well, no, I just said that I bet you come up with a plan they can't refuse. Hermione and Ginny thought I was nutters, and said that no way her parents would come out of that room planning on taking your money. I said, when Harry's determined, he'll find a way to make sure they can't refuse, and you did! Great plan by the way," Ron finished with a grin. Harry shook his head and chuckled.

They sat up talking for several minutes longer before the girls said their good nights and wandered upstairs. Harry lay down on his sofa and covered up with a lovely crotched blanket and tried to fall asleep.

The nights were the hardest for him. At night were the times he heard their voices and dreamed of going back into the forest to find the Stone. If only he could see them one more time. Harry lay there thinking of different conversations he'd have with his loved ones who were passed on.

He'd talk with his mum about Ginny and his future. How he was re-thinking his dream of becoming an Auror and how he just wanted to finish school and get married and have a family with Ginny. He was tired, not literally tired but weary of fighting. He no longer wanted to be the one everyone looked too to finish their battles. He was exhausted of being the hero, the Chosen One, The-Boy-Who-Lived. He just wanted to exist as himself, Harry.

He imagined her saying encouraging things to help him make his decisions and plan for his life. She'd tell him it was okay to doubt his plans, and to just come up with new ones. She'd tell him that it didn't matter anymore what the world thought of him, he was free. Free to do what ever he wanted, whether that would be to live a long and healthy life with Ginny, have ten children and a big, black dog named Snuffles, or be an Auror and catch bad guys all his life. Either way she would be proud of him, no matter what.

The conversations he would have with his dad would be about Quidditch, girls, and Animagi. Harry had never told anyone this but he had always wanted to learn how to become an Animagus, like his dad and Sirius. His dad would tell him how amazing it was running free without a care in the world along-side his best friends under the full moon. They would talk about pranks and which teachers secretly took bets on who would be the next prank victims. They would plan pranks on Snape and Wormtail that would get more and more elaborate as their talks went on.

His dad would explain why he acted so arrogant in school. Why he treated Severus Snape the way he did, and if her regretted it or not. He always would, sort of. The git did deserve it sometimes. This would be where Sirius would come bounding into the discussion and do his own Snape-bashing. Then he would talk about the past and how the Marauder's ruled the school. Then he would put Harry up to a new task of pranks that would help the Marauder's live on. Harry would agree and laugh along with them.

Sharing things with them was easy, he could be himself with them. Like he could with Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. He wasn't the Boy-Who-Lived with them, he was just Harry. A messy haired, young man, with spectacles and green eyes, and a wicked interesting scar that no one would care about because it was barely visible and they all knew the story, and they didn't care. It was _just_ a scar.

Next, he'd talk with Remus and Tonks. He would talk to them about Teddy. Their hopes and dreams for their child. What they wanted him to tell their son when he was old enough to know the truth. They would tell him that they wanted him to finish school first, then be a father figure to his godson. Teddy had Andromeda at the moment.

They would tell him that he was under no obligation to go live with Andromeda for the summer to help her out. He was finally free to be a teenager and this was his last summer to be a kid. He didn't have to be a parent as well. They would thank him for being there and apologize for acting reckless and rushing off leaving their baby an orphan. Remus would apologize for his behavior in Grimmauld Place and Harry would forgive him.

Harry would finally be able to tell all of them he loved them.

After all the discussions, Dumbledore would show up. He'd congratulate Harry on a job well done, and say how proud he was of Harry. Harry would admit that he loved the headmaster like a grandfather and Albus's eyes would twinkle and he'd say he always loved Harry like a grandson. They'd hug, and be pelted with water balloons as Fred ran into the room laughing.

Harry would smile and laugh along with the twin as they ran around in a mock duel, then they'd prank each other until they couldn't breath for laughing too hard. Then after all the fun was over, Fred would get serious and thank Harry for being there for George. He'd admit that he was scared of being alone until George was old and wrinkled, but he'd admit that on the other side, time had no meaning. He'd ask Harry to make sure George didn't do anything stupid. To use his partnership to his advantage and hire people to work at the store that would be there for George if he needed it. Harry would agree and soon he would drift off to sleep.

Harry always had these thought while he waited for sleep to come. He always ended up silently crying to sleep and dreaming of Marvolo Gaunt's ring.

The night after his debate with the Grangers' was no different. He made up silent discussions as he fell asleep, but as he dreamed, he dreamed of something different.

* * *

He was walking in a forest, but it wasn't the one he usually dreamed of after his day dreams of the ring talks with his loved ones. This forest was bright and cheery. It was a very old forest, but very light and alive. He could see birds in the trees singing their tunes, and deer walking past just off the path.

The path he was on curved around a few very large trees, but otherwise stayed fairly straight. It was a gravel trail, obviously not traveled much recently. He walked for a while, but never felt rushed or like he needed to be somewhere, so he walked at a leisurely pace. After a while he began to wonder where the path was taking him. As soon as the thought crossed his mind the path in front of him morphed gracefully into a large clearing. In the center of the clearing was the Burrow.

He walked forward intrigued. He could see several children carrying brooms running around the back of the house towards the orchard near the small Quidditch pitch was.

Suddenly, someone came running out of the house holding a small child, and yelling towards the direction the group of children ran. One of them came scurrying around the corner holding a broom much too large for his small stature. He walked towards the woman with his head down. He stumbled right when he got near her and she grabbed his arm as he tripped, stopping his fall. She righted him and stood him up straight.

From Harry's vantage point, it looked as though the boy was being scolded. He nodded his head solemnly and handed over the broom to, whom Harry guessed was, the child's mother. She nodded and told him to run along and stay on the ground till his father got home. She turned and went inside carrying the babbling toddler in her arms.

Harry tried to move forward but found his feet firmly planted on the ground so he couldn't move. He still felt the contentment and serene feeling of the place and felt no need to move closer yet.

He looked around the yard and was surprised to see the large tables used for special occasions set up in the garden. They had yet to be placed in formation and have tablecloths placed on them so Harry figured they weren't ready yet. He could see the small chicken coup off in the distance and the broom shed along the drive. Mr. Weasley's shed was still looking as ramshackle as ever. The Wellington boots were still near the door by the kitchen and he could even spy a few garden gnomes sneaking back from the fields. Even farther in the distance he could see the pond in it's sparkling glory and the tree house in the large tree next to the pond.

Harry lifted his foot and realized he could walk again and began the descent towards the house. As he neared the Burrow he heard a loud pop. He scanned the area and saw a young man with a pony tail holding the hand of a little girl. She had long blonde hair and pale blue eyes. She was jabbering away in French and he nodded and let go of her hand. She ran off towards the direction of the other children.

The young man Harry recognized was Bill. Just as he realized this he heard another pop and Fleur arrived holding a bundle and the hand of another child, this one younger than the first little blonde girl. He was also blonde but it was a very strawberry blonde. He also spoke a bit of French interspersed with some English. Bill took the child and swung him up onto his shoulders to the child's glee. The two headed towards the house with their arms full.

Harry tried to follow, but once again found he was stuck to the ground. He began to get frustrated. Harry had begun to wonder who the young woman who had scolded the child from earlier was and was anxious to get inside. He stood in one place waiting for his feet to unstuck until he heard yet another dual pop.

This time he looked up to see Ron and Hermione slightly older and each was holding the hands of two children. All four kids had bright red hair and freckles, but Harry could see definite signs of Hermione in them as well. For one, two of the kids had very bushy puffs of hair. One of the others, was a female and she had the slightly larger front teeth Harry remembered Hermione having early on.

Ron was smiling at Hermione and the kids, three boys and one girl, were tugging on their parents arms towards the house. Harry was in awe. He began to wonder if he was seeing the future. Hermione turned and Harry saw she was heavy with child and glowing in her happiness. They let their children run ahead of them, and they lingered.

"My goodness you'd think they never saw their relatives. It's not like they don't see their cousins several times a week and their grandparents every weekend," Hermione said with a laugh. Ron grinned at her.

"Yes, well this one is a special occasion. It's their uncle's birthday. Of course they're going to be exited. They know what's going to happen at sunset. I hope George is ready for them. Come on, I'm hungry," Ron said. At the same time, Harry and Hermione both said, "You're always hungry."

"I know, so lets go!" Ron laughed as he pulled Hermione into his arms as he walked down to the Burrow. She laughed loudly and playfully demanded him to let her down. He said no and she stuck her tongue out at him. Harry went to follow and found himself stuck to the ground still. He growled out his frustration and felt a light breeze swirl past him. As this happened he knew he'd be let loose when the time was right. So he waited.

He could hear the laughter coming from the house and knew that whoever he was waiting for was late and the last to arrive. Soon three pops sounded and he looked up to see Mr. Weasley, Percy, and another Harry standing together.

"Well looks like we arrived just in time Harry. Come on, mum is probably waiting to pinch your cheeks and feed you till you pop with your birthday cake." Both Harry's bristled at Percy's comment but at the same time was proud of the fact that Mrs. Weasley cared for him so much. Mr. Weasley chuckled at his son's jest and pulled them both along.

At the same time Harry knew that he could walk again, so he followed. They walked into the kitchen and could hear the laughter coming from the living room. Harry saw a magnificent birthday cake on the kitchen table with his name in green frosting on top. He thought back to what Ron had said, and realized he was an uncle. The children he saw were his nephews and nieces. Joy shot through him and he smiled.

As he rounded the corner behind his dream self and the other Weasley's he heard his name. Both Harry's turned towards the side of the room and smiled at what they saw. Ginny was holding a toddler and was obviously with child though not as far along as Hermione. The child, a girl with dark black hair with natural red highlights, was covered in flour and frosting and giggling like crazy. She saw Harry and began to squirm.

"Daddy! I want Daddy!" Ginny huffed and put the toddler on the ground so she could toddle her way over to the Dream Harry who picked her up and threw her in the air, only to catch her a moment later. The little girl was so exited she screamed and yelled for him to do it again. So he complied.

"Who got into the frosting today?" Dream Harry asked.

"Me!" shouted the little girl. Harry watched on in wonder. This little girl was his child, his little girl.

"You? Well, Lily dear, I guess I'm just going to have to kiss that frosting right off of your sweet sugary check." Dream Harry teased Lily who squirmed and giggled until Dream Harry got close enough to kiss her then she turned her head so he kissed her on the lips. She smacked her lips on his and he opened his eyes in mock surprise.

"You weren't supposed to turn, I wanted a taste of Lily Frosting!" Dream Harry began tickling her. She shrieked and giggled as all the other occupants smiled and watched.

Ron and Hermione were talking by the fireplace and Harry over heard snatches of their conversation.

"Ron, the kids want an adults versus children game later after lunch. I told them they'd have to ask Harry and the other kids. I'm sure that's where they all are right now, practicing. Why don't you and Harry take Nicholas, Helena, and Lily out to the orchard and see how they are doing, okay?" Ron nodded and grabbed his daughter, Helena, from behind Hermione's chair. Dream Harry carried Lily, and Bill's child Nicholas outside.

Harry had the feeling he was supposed to follow them so he did reluctantly. He wanted to see more of Ginny and the family but he followed his instinct and went outside with Ron and his other self.

Ron and Dream Harry were having a discussion about meaningless stuff like the girls pregnancies and this weeks Weasley picnic while they walked. They had allowed the toddlers to toddle their way ahead of them as they talked.

They passed a bush and heard a giggle. They grinned at each other and turned simultaneously, reaching into the bush they both pulled out a small child each. The two kids were screaming in delight and laughing loudly while Harry noticed another child emerge from the bush. Ron and Dream Harry laughed along with them.

"What might I ask were you three hiding in the bushes?" Dream Harry asked the kids. One of them had messy black hair and chocolate brown eyes with glasses. He looked about the age of five or six. The other two were short with red-hair. One was a girl, about the age of five also, and the boy seemed like her twin. She had a short pixie hair cut and he had scruffy style that included twigs and leaves attached and both kids had deep blue eyes. They both had so many freckles it would have been impossible to count them. She was the one who spoke first.

"Sorry Uncle Harry, we were hiding from Teddy and Monique. They wanted to pick on us since we're too young to play Quidditch with them. So we hid. When we saw you and Uncle Ron coming we decided to trick you. But you caught us." Dream Harry smiled. One child walked up and placed his hand into Dream Harry's and looked up at him to speak.

"Yeah daddy, Teddy was being a meanie, poopy head. And so was Moni," the little black-haired boy said with a pout. Harry, adjacent to the other adults, laughed. So this little runt was his also? How many kids did he have?

"Brian, you know it's not nice to call people meanie, poopy heads right?" Dream Harry asked his son. Brian nodded. "Okay, promise me you won't do that anymore, alright?" Brian promised.

"Now, Aylin, Zander, Brian," Dream Harry pulled the little boy and girl closer, along with Brian. "Since Teddy and Moni were picking on you, you know what that means right?" The three children perked up with questioning eyes. "It's time to pick on them!" The three kids shouted their happiness and ran off towards the field.

Ron was laughing holding on to Nicholas, who had toddled back to them with Lily and Helena. Dream Harry stood up and swung Lily onto his shoulders and held Helena's hand.

Harry stood by watching. He had never really imagined having kids before and here he was with two, possibly more, and one on the way. He didn't understand if he was dreaming or seeing the future, but whatever this was, he enjoyed it very much.

The overwhelming feeling he had while watching these events play out was a sense of happiness, safety, and peace. There were no bad feelings here. This is what he wanted. Now if only all the people he loved who were dead were here, it would be his paradise.

"Well that was interesting. Meanie, poopy head, huh? Wonder where he learned that one," Ron chuckled.

"I believe he heard it from James, who learned it from Fred. I'm going to have to have a word with those two," replied Dream Harry.

Harry stopped his train of when he heard his father's and Fred's names. The two men had walked on leaving the invisible Harry behind. He ran to catch up, wishing to learn more about the occupants of the two names he had heard.

When he had caught up with the two men, he walked near by and listened carefully but no more mention of James and Fred was made. They walked on and finally ended up in the orchard. Harry saw at least a half dozen brooms in the air with kids on them, and another half dozen on the ground watching. Most had bright red or blonde hair but three had dark, distinct black hair. Two, black haired boys were in the air and a girl, also with black hair and who looked slightly younger, was on the ground talking with another girl the same age.

"Dad! Hey, come here, I want to talk to you! You too Uncle Ron!" shouted one of the boys with black hair. The two landed and started walking towards the adults. As Dream Harry and Ron passed the two girls and handed off the care of the toddlers to them. Harry just caught their names as Aubrey and Prudence, though Prudence insisted they call her Rudy.

The adults met with the two boys in the middle of the field along with another three boys and a girl. The oldest boy had vivid lime green hair, that changed to turquoise in a second. Harry realized this was Teddy, so the girl next to him must have been Moni, or Monique. This was confirmed when they said hello to Dream Harry and Ron.

"Teddy, Monique, we were told that you two were bothering Brian, Aylin, and Zander earlier. Is this right? You know not to tease them for not being old enough for brooms yet. It will only fire them up and make them do something dangerous," Dream Harry said sternly. The two teens looked at their feet and apologized.

"I'm sorry Uncle Harry. All I told them was that we'd get in trouble if they were to use a broom. They couldn't play unless an adult were out here. They started to get kind of annoying so I yelled at them to go inside…" Teddy's explanation trailed off and neither Harry's could hear the ending.

"I'm sorry what was that? Speak up," Ron said with a smile. He apparently heard what was said and found it funny. Teddy sighed.

"I yelled at them to go inside with the other babies," Teddy finished with another sigh. Dream Harry fought a smile, while the real Harry was grinning like a moron. He was truly enjoying seeing himself as a parent.

"Teddy, they're only five and six years old. They aren't babies, and if I remember correctly, you hated being called little when you were that age. You were a big boy, and let everyone know it too. It hurts to be called a baby when all you want to be is a grown up. You need to apologize to them when you see them, or I'll let Andromeda know that you were causing problems today, alright?" Dream Harry was strict, Harry thought to himself with a nod. Teddy had gasped and his head shot up, looking at Dream Harry's smirking face.

Just as Teddy realized he'd been had, a bucket of ice cold water balloons spilled from a bucket in the sky above Teddy and Monique's heads. All the others jumped away from the barrage of colorful balls of water and began laughing. Harry looked back and saw George standing behind a tree with Aylin, Zander, and Brian. They were all laughing hysterically trying to stay hidden.

Teddy and Monique were screaming and dancing around trying to avoid the balloons which kept on coming.

"You might want to use your lung capacity to apologize now while you can," Dream Harry yelled over them. The two took advantage of his advice and screamed they were sorry as loud as they could. As soon as the words were out of their mouths the balloons stopped. Everyone was laughing at them and they stood there looking around until they saw the three little kids they had teased standing off in the distance with their devious uncle.

They knew that they had been pranked and pranked well. Together they walked over to the four-some, who were still laughing hard, and apologized the right way. Soon after they headed inside to clean up and dry off. George waved at Dream Harry and Ron and followed the wet teens inside, jokingly chastising them for teasing his kids of all people.

Dream Harry had a conversation with his kids, James (Jimi) and Sirius (Siri), about the Quidditch match kids versus adults they wanted to have. Harry learned over the next half an hour that his alter ago in the dream world had five kids, Jimi and Siri, who were twins, Aubrey, Brian, and Lily. He took care of Teddy also on alternating weekends and saw him several times a week, plus Ginny was pregnant with another child, due in a few months time.

He also learned that Ron and Hermione had, as he had seen earlier, four kids, Roderick, Thomas, Helena, and Arthur, who was also called Junior by the elder Arthur, plus one due to be born in only a few more weeks.

Of the other children in the orchard there were Bill and Fleur's kids, Monique and Nicholas (they kept baby Alexander inside). Percy and Penelope's kid's Prudence and Phillip. George and Katie's oldest child Fred. Harry learned that Charlie's wife had passed away only a year ago after giving birth to their youngest child, Sage. He was at home in Romania with his three kid's Braelynn, Brynlee, (who were twin girls) and Sage this week and couldn't make it for the picnic. Of all their children, Molly and Arthur now had twenty-one grandchildren (and they counted Teddy in this) and two on the way.

Harry was astounded as he watched the families laugh, talk, and generally have a fun and carefree time. He learned through the conversations he listened to over the next hour, while everyone ate lunch, that he was an Auror as well as Ron. Ginny was a healer, and Hermione worked at Hogwarts as the newest Ancient Runes Professor.

George still had his shop which had expanded to Hogsmeade, Paris, and America. Percy was Minister of Magic, like he had always aspired to be. Charlie still worked at the same Dragon Reserve, but now he was the head Dragon Tamer, and he ran the whole reserve. Bill had returned to curse breaking but now worked in France in the old hidden castles that were found.

Mr. Weasley had retired from the Ministry and spent his days tinkering with various muggle relics he could get his hands on. Mrs. Weasley spent her time with all her grandkids and knitting all thirty-five jumpers she still gave at Christmas every year. She and Arthur also took several vacations a year due to his retirement fund from the Ministry after serving as Minister for five years after Kingsley was killed in a final Death Eater strike several months after the war ended. Harry was saddened to hear about Kingsley's death, but knew that he had died valiantly.

He watched the children goofing around at their table throwing food and giggling like mad when others were caught and scolded but not them. Harry tried very hard not to take sides but when James plopped a large scoop of baked beans on little Lily's head, only to have his little sister turn around and delicately place a whole treacle tart under James butt before he sat back down from being scolded, Harry found it hard not to like his pseudo-daughter very much. Especially since after he had been yelled at by Dream Ginny for five full minutes, and Lily wasn't even reprimanded.

"But Mum, she put the tart under my bum before I sat down. She was getting back at me for the baked beans. Why do I get in trouble, and not her? She ruined a whole Treacle Tart and I just wasted a scoop of beans," James whined. Harry was laughing very hard, as was Dream Harry.

"She is too young to know how to be so…so…" Ginny was fuming mad.

"I believe the term your looking for sister dearest, is smart-ass," George laughed. Ginny turned to him.

"I know what I was going to say George. And I'll thank you not to encourage them, like this," she yelled.

"Yes, Ginny has a point George. You are an adult, you should be acting like one," Molly said sternly. Harry noticed all the older children and most of the adults chuckle and hide their smiles. Even with a few kids of his own, George was still be reprimanded by his mummy.

"Yes, mum," George responded solemnly, trying to hide his own snicker. Harry noticed as everyone settled down, his imitation self was handed a few Galleons under the table by Ron. He leaned close to hear what was being said.

"I told you Ron, I know my daughter well enough to know that she'd retaliate." Harry began laughing again. Across the table Bill handed Percy several Galleons also.

"I told you she tell him to act like an adult before five o'clock. He's George, he's never going to grow up," Percy said.

Later, after the food was cleaned up and the tables cleared away. The whole clan retired to the orchard to watch the Quidditch match. Dream Harry was teamed with Ron, Ginny, Bill, Percy, George, and Katie. As it went, Harry was seeker; Ginny, Percy, and Katie were Chasers; George and Bill were Beaters; and Ron played Keeper.

On the younger team, Teddy played Seeker, like his godfather; Moni, Fred, and Roderick played Chasers; James and Siri played Beaters, and they played as well as another twin Beater team Hogwarts once knew; and as Keeper was Prudence. There had been a small argument over who would play keeper since both Aubrey and Rudy both wanted to play, so a coin toss was the deciding factor.

Both teams were in the air and Mr. Weasley threw the Quaffle into the air and let loose the Bludgers and Snitch. The game was on.

Harry sat in the grass near Hermione, Fleur, and the elder Weasley's while he watched the game. For a half an hour he sat and half listened to the conversations and watched the game, enthralled at the competitiveness between the elder and younger people. The game was fierce and long.

"Harry Potter."

Harry looked around. Dream Harry was farther away on the pitch and the voice that said his name was not yelling. Instead it sounded as if it came from directly behind him. He looked around and saw no one, and shook his head and turned back to the game just in time to see his twin sons pull off an amazing Dopplebeater Defense.

"Harry Potter. You are needed."

Harry jumped up and spun around with his wand out. No one was there.

"Who's there? How do you know I'm here?" he asked the disembodied voice. He waited, and waited.

"Come forward, Harry James. You are needed elsewhere."

"Where? Why don't you show yourself?" Harry yelled. He was spinning around waiting for someone to appear.

"Please, calm yourself, Harry James. All will be answered in time. Come forward," the voice said. Harry felt the need to move towards the Burrow. So he walked with a glance back at the game. He saw Lily cuddle next to Ginny and rest her little head in her mummy's lap. Harry stopped walking and wished he could live this life. He wanted that little girl to run and jump into his arms after a long days work. He wanted to hear about his sons first year at Hogwarts.

Suddenly, the world turned white and he was standing in nothingness. He whirled around and around trying to find something in the blank space. But he could see nothing but white.

"Where are you?!" he screamed. "Give it back! Please?!" He fell to his knees sobbing. He dropped his wand and placed his head in his hands as he was wracked with sobs.

"Why does the world want to see me break? Why does this keep happening to me? I just want…" Harry broke off sobbing desperately. For several long minutes he cried without stopping or slowing.

After a few more minutes he felt a hand on his shoulder. He spun around and grabbed his wand off the ground as he did. He shoved his wand tip into the face of an older man with salt and pepper hair, kind gray eyes, and several age spots on his chin.

"Who are you, and where am I? Why are you doing this to me?" Harry shouted through his tears. He looked over and saw two other men, one who looked slightly younger and one who looked much older than the other two.

"Harry James, please lower your wand. It will not work here. We will answer your questions, in time. Please, follow me." The man stood and gave a hand to Harry to help him up. Harry reluctantly took the offered hand and stood. The other two men turned and walked away. Towards what, Harry couldn't tell, since everything was white to him he could not see a destination or even a path they were following. The man who helped him up followed the others and Harry sighed. He wiped the tears from his face and followed the men into the void.

* * *

**A/N: Please read this!** I must say I am thoroughly irritated that I only got one stinking review for the last chapter. Not that the review was a bad one, just that I only got One! Okay people, here's the deal, Reviews = motivation…I need motivation to write. If I don't get motivation, I can't write!! If I can't write I can't post, if I can't post, readers, like you, aren't happy. To satisfy your own happiness, please, please review! With this chapter, I'll have posted roughly 140 thousand words and all I get is a measly 47 reviews? I've seen stories that are written horribly and not edited and such and they have hundreds of reviews…why is that? Please, I am asking you, no, I'm begging you, to please review.

**Rebecca:** I want to thank you personally for being my sole review last chapter. Just for you, I am thinking of doing a side-shot to this story all about the Marauders. It may take me awhile, but I will try hard to get it done. Thank you very much for the review and I'm glad you are enjoying the story.


	19. Awakening Reality

Disclaimer: Does anyone even read these? Ah well, you all know the drill.

* * *

**_Awakening Reality_**

Harry followed the three men for a few minutes before the world unexpectedly changed around him. In the blink of an eye, he was standing in a small room of a small house with the three men. There was a cozy fire in the hearth and a comfy sofa set to sit on. A bookshelf stood in the corner though Harry couldn't read any titles from where he stood.

Harry looked to the men and saw they were all seated and watching him, waiting for him to sit. So he walked over and sat on the love seat across from them. A mug of cocoa appeared in front of his face floating. The whole situation seemed vaguely familiar to him and he realized that the cup was waiting for him to take it. The Dursley's popped into his head at that moment and he remembered why it was a familiar picture.

"Why am I here?" Harry asked the men as he took the mug. He took a careful sip and was delighted in the chocolaty taste.

"You are here Harry James because you are making a grave mistake," the man who helped him up said mysteriously.

"And that grave mistake would be? What?" Harry prompted. The three men glanced at each other. A flash of light appeared in front of each of them and when it faded each had an object in his hands. Harry recognized each.

"The Deathly Hallows," Harry whispered. "Then you three are…"

"Yes, Harry James. We are the Peverell brothers. The ones who attempted to cheat Death. I am Cadmus. I was the owner of the Resurrection Stone. This is Antioch, former owner of the Elder Wand, more commonly known as the Death Stick. Finally, your own ancestor, Ignotus. I believe you can deduce the item in his hands since you've been the wielder of it for several years now," Cadmus grinned politely. Harry was in shock.

"Why am I here? Where exactly am I?" Harry finally asked.

"You are here, Harry James, because we have noticed that you dream of finding the Stone and using it again. This would be a grave mistake on your part as you chose to live when you were given the choice between moving on or going back to finish the fight. If you dwell on what was, you will never be able to partake in the present day. To find the Stone would cause you to follow the same mistake I made. I do not want you to die for the same reasons I did. I chose to take my life because the Stone drove me mad.

"You, who are the Master of Death, cannot let these objects fall into the hands of others who would use them for harm. We have watched you carefully when you came into the ownership of one of the Hallows, and watched as you mastered all of them, using all in the same day. We brought you here to talk to you, mostly to warn you of the dangers of the items you control, but also to…learn more about you." Cadmus smiled and nodded to his brother Ignotus.

"To learn more about me? Why?" Harry asked. He was confused but intrigued as to why three dead men wanted to learn about him, an average boy. Then again, thought Harry, I'm not the average boy.

"We want to learn more about you Harry, because you are the first Master of Death. No one in history has ever held all three Hallows at one time, or used them all in the same day. Albus Dumbledore came very close, if he had held your Cloak the same day he found the ring, he would have been the first. But alas, you had the Cloak then. Albus was also weak when it came to the Hallows. It takes a man of strong will and motivation to possess the Hallows, but not fall prey to them as well," Ignotus replied. Harry was starting to understand a little bit.

"So, the reason Professor Dumbledore was weak was because he wanted to use the Stone to see his parents and sister again? How is that weak?" Harry asked quietly, for he knew that this is what he'd been wishing for over the last fortnight.

"Partly. The reason Albus was weak was not because he wanted to see his family once again, he was weak because he allowed that wish to consume him. It is natural to wish to see your departed loved ones once more, but to allow this wish to squander away your life, it becomes unhealthy and hurts not just yourself, but others around you.

"For example, Albus wished to use the Stone to see his family again, and in the end it only caused his death and possibly Severus Snape's, as well. Do you see, Harry James?" asked Ignotus carefully.

"I think so. Dumbledore once told me it does not due to dwell on dreams, and forget to live. Is this what you mean?" Harry asked sadly. He knew the answer to his question and as much as he didn't want to hear it said to him again, he needed to hear it.

"Yes, Harry. This is exactly what we are trying to say. I am glad you understand this." Ignotus smiled at Harry. His kind elderly smile was similar to Dumbledore's but more of a grandfatherly type than an elderly teacher.

"So, you said you wanted to know more about me. What is it that you want to know? And may I ask a few questions of my own?" Harry inquired. The men all smiled and nodded their heads. Harry took this as permission to ask his questions first.

"Where are we right now? And what was the deal with the picnic at the Burrow, was I seeing the future?" Now that he was given the okay to ask, a million questions popped into his head and he had to force himself to stop and wait for answers.

"We are currently in the Void. It is a place where dreams happen but also where those who have been given an otherworldly mission can accomplish them. Those who have passed on are able to come here occasionally," Antioch replied. It was the first time he had spoken and his voice was a melodious, deep baritone. He looked to be the youngest of the three men but Harry knew he was actually the eldest.

"Otherworldly mission?" Harry questioned.

"As we are the original owners and the reason the Hallows even exist, we were given the task of tracking the location and keeping and eye on the current owners of the separate Hallows. We each keep track of the Hallow we were entrusted with, and watch what happens.

"I, who was owner of the Elder Wand, have been forced to watch the destruction and death this wand has wreaked over the centuries. It has been my penance for having been the instigator of the creation of such an abomination. If I could go back and reverse my request, I would do so a million times over, but as such I cannot. So I will spend eternity watching this wand destroy. Unless, of course, someone is able to break the trail of devastation. Which would be impossible because it is undefeatable." Harry stopped him by a wave of the hand.

"If it is undefeatable, how has it been passed along to others over the years? How is it that you were defeated? How does myself defeating Draco Malfoy by disarming him from his original wand make me the true owner of the Elder Wand, which he had no recollection of ever being the master of?" he asked. The other men looked at Harry in a new light.

"I am very surprised and pleased Harry James. Not many have been able to come to this realization so soon after becoming the Master of the Death Stick. You are right of course, it is not an undefeatable wand; it merely has unprecedented power," Antioch said with a chuckle.

"Well, I've had a long time to think about this. I also plan to be the last owner of the Deathly Hallows. The power of the Elder Wand will die with me, if I die of natural causes, its power will be done for," Harry replied. Antioch sighed and shook his head.

"I'm sorry Harry James, but this is not possible. Think of how you became master, you disarmed Draco Malfoy's original wand. If you were so much as disarmed once, that person would then be the new master. In order for you to do what you say, you would have to forsake magic altogether and live as a recluse until you died.

"You plan on becoming an Auror. Do you not think that at some point you would be disarmed by a criminal, or even a fellow Auror in a training event?" Antioch asked gently. Harry was dumbfounded. He stared at Antioch with disbelief.

"Damn it. I was sure that would work. Are you positive?" he asked the older man.

"Yes, Harry James, the wand has been in circulation for many, many decades. You are not the first, nor probably the last, who will think of this. I am just glad I was able to warn you of this unfortunate problem before you spent years worrying about the wands safety." Antioch looked at Cadmus who turned to Harry.

"I believe you asked about the simulation of the Burrow picnic? I can answer that for you. You see, I have been watching you have conversations with your deceased loved ones for many nights now. Do not be embarrassed, Harry James, they hear you and are sending you their answers to your subconscious. It is one way the people who have passed on are able to contact their living loved ones. It is not uncommon for someone to ask a question rhetorically and get the answer in their sleep afterwards.

"I am more concerned with the emotions these conversations have been evoking in you. The more you think about your parents, godfather, and friends who have passed on, the more you are tempted to go after the Stone. Since I am the guardian of the Stone, I was the one who made the decision to bring you here. I also decided to show you that what you dream of, can come true.

"The simulation of the Burrow, was just that, a simulation. It was a dream for you to see. The things you wish for in life are family, peace, and happiness and in this dream you had all of that.

"But the important thing about this dream, it could all come true. George could marry Katie Bell and have a few kids and expand the shop. Ron and Hermione could get married and have a passel of children. You could marry your Ginny and have enough children for your own Quidditch team and be a successful Auror. All of this could happen in your real future, but not if you dwell on the past. I showed this too you to help you regain your focus," Cadmus answered. He took a sip of his cocoa while he waited for Harry's response. Harry was thinking very hard. He wanted everything that he saw in his dream, but did he want his past more?

He loved his parents and Sirius, Remus, Tonks, and Fred, even Colin. If he turned away from his plan to find the Stone, would that mean he was abandoning them? But the Resurrection Stone didn't being people back to life, it just brought back a shadow of them. A shadow that didn't even want to stay in this realm.

But if he turned to his past, and found the Stone, would that mean that he was officially turning his back of those he loved who still lived? Would they understand his decision? What would happen if he went mad, focusing his interests in the past? Would he die the same way as Cadmus?

As these questions ran through Harry's head his eyes watered and tears ran down his cheeks. Either way, he'd be giving up something that meant the world to him. His parents or Ginny? Sirius, Fred, and Colin or Ron and Hermione? Remus and Tonks or Teddy?

Harry placed his head in his hands and began rocking back and forth crying. He knew he had to make a decision and it would be the hardest question he'd ever have to make.

Life or Death.

Past or Future.

Harry felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw the small room was crowded with people. His parents, Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Fred, and Colin were standing around him. His red eyes opened wide and his tears flowed stronger. He placed his head in his hands again and started rocking once more. His sobs drowned out any noise in the room.

He felt the sofa bow and knew someone had sat down next to him. He felt strong but soft arms encircle him and he leaned into the embrace. He breathed in and smelled a floral scent.

"Harry, darling, hush. Shh, it'll be okay, honey. Shh, shh. Harry dear, we need you to calm down so we can talk to you. We don't have much time. We felt the strong emotions and distress coming from you as well as the strong desire to see us all. We came, but we can't stay for a long time. Shh," Lily whispered in his ear.

He felt the love emanating from her and knew that she loved him to her core. Nothing he could do could stop her from loving him. He basked in the love for a few minutes before lifting his head. He wiped his eyes and looked around. Antioch, Cadmus, and Ignotus were together in a corner watching the scene with twinkles in their eyes but saying nothing.

"Jeez, Harry you sure know how to pull at the heartstrings, don't you?" Fred asked chuckling. Harry saw the tears in everyone's eyes, and knew he was trying to lighten the mood as he always did. Harry smiled but said nothing.

"You got that right. Kiddo, you nearly had me crying there," Sirius said jovially. Harry, hearing the nickname, nearly began crying again but stopped himself and took a deep breath.

"You? Cry? Padfoot, it's not nice to lie," Remus joked. Tonks smiled and looked at Harry.

"Wotcher, Harry! When I saw you pick up Teddy that first time, and saw him change his appearance to yours, I knew we made the right choice. Mum was so grateful you brought those self-changing nappies and those biscuits before you left. And that toy Dragon? Did you have to name it Puff? Couldn't think of anything more original?" she asked giggling.

"Well, I had to name it and Norbert was taken. Besides, Puff is a cute name for a Dragon who blows smoke animals. It's fitting," Harry replied in a mock offended voice. Everyone laughed, glad to see Harry joking around rather than the way they found him. He was visibly having a hard time, and they could see that. Lily looked at her son, in her arms for the first time in almost seventeen years.

"We wanted to talk to you Harry. We've all heard the things you wish to talk to us about. I know you don't know much about us, and that's why we've been given permission to send you the answers to your subconscious. We hate that we can't spend more time with you, and answer them in person, but we just can't.

"We actually came here tonight for a reason. We came to tell you to leave the Stone where it is. The shadows you saw in the forest were us, but it was a reluctant us. We love you, but we want you to live your life. You deserve to live Harry. Not waste away dreaming of the past. You will see us one day again, have no fear of that, dear. We are always there with you. It would not be fair of us to want you here when you've earned a life of your own. We've lived our lives, now it's time for you to live yours," Lily spoke softly but determinedly. Harry had to take several large breaths of air to keep from breaking down again. James sat down next to Harry.

"Your mum's right Harry. You deserve to marry that little spitfire of yours, and have several kids, naming one after me of course," James said with a wink. Lily slapped his arm.

"James, do not guilt him in to naming his future children after us, he needs to talk to Ginny about that first," Lily said shaking her head. "Harry don't listen to him, he's just joking around. But I do want to say, Ginny seems like a wonderful person for you."

"Yeah, she won't be afraid of telling you to bugger off and hex you if you don't," Fred laughed. Sirius and Remus joined in the laughter along with Tonks and James. Harry chuckled and rolled his eyes at Fred's antics.

"You know, Harry? She really loves you a lot," Colin said. Harry looked to the short young man. Harry's heart dropped.

"Colin, I…I'm so sorry," Harry whispered. Colin shook his head.

"There's nothing to apologize for Harry. I died doing what I wanted to be doing. It was the right thing to do, stay and fight. I know I wasn't supposed to be there since I was underage, but if I hadn't gone, I'd have hated myself. And besides, I died saving someone's life. It was worth it, and I don't ever want to hear you say anything about it again, or I'll come back and haunt you," Colin finished with a laugh.

"Same with me Kiddo. It tears me up inside every time I hear you say it was your fault I died. Listen closely, and read my lips if you must," Sirius grabbed the sides of Harry's face and forced him to look into his eyes. "It was NOT your fault. It…was not…your…fault. Got it, kiddo?" Harry nodded his head. "Good, because I'd hate to have to join Colin here in haunting your arse till you die."

"Language, Sirius!" Lily shouted slapping Sirius's arm. "Harry we don't have much time so I wanted to mention my sister."

"Aunt Petunia, what about her?" Harry asked.

"She's not in her right mind. She took the experience with Severus as a child and her wish to be a witch like me, and turned them into something bad. These bad feelings have become delusions in her mind. She really does believe that all wizards are bad people. She's taught herself and Vernon and Dudley that to be different is a horrible thing. Magic to her is the equivalent of having AIDS or gunning people down in a public place. It will probably always be this way with her.

"But Dudley has spent the last few months around wizards, he has seen that magic is not a bad thing. As has Vernon, though he may never admit it," Lily rolled her eyes.

"What I am trying to get across to you is that when you find them to bring them back to their home, give my sister the benefit of the doubt. Treat her with some respect and ignore the spiteful things she says, like you've always said, you don't have to spend any more time with them after you bring them back.

"I know they've treated you horribly over the years so I don't blame you, and if I got the chance I'd give them a piece of my mind, locking a poor infant in a closet because he's scared of the thunder is not acceptable!" she finished with an angry look.

"Darling, it's okay, we can always go back and haunt her. Please?" James pouted and gave his wife his puppy-dog eyes.

"Prongs my deer mate, that look only works for me, sorry," said Sirius with a bark like laugh. James looked at him and stuck his tongue out at him.

"Oh, yeah that's mature, Prongs," said Remus with a loud chuckle. Harry watched them joke around wistfully, a look not missed by Lily and Tonks. They shared a sad glance and Tonks joined Harry and Lily on the couch.

"They're not going anywhere Harry. They'll be here when it's your time, you should go on with your life with the knowledge that when you pass, you'll get to come here and have another eternity with the ones you love. Now, you can live your life like there is a tomorrow, but at the same time choose to live like you were dying. Life can now be exiting for you and not in a terrifying way. You have Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Molly and Arthur, all of the other Weasley brothers, and so many more people who want to see you live the life of a normal teenager. And you even have the Minister on your side for once! Why would you want to give all that up?" Tonks replied with a smile.

Lily watched the younger woman with her son. She was happy that the two had been able to spend some time together. At least Harry had some women influence in his life. Tonks, Molly Weasley, and Minerva McGonagall were the three women in Harry's life that actually meant something to him, to an extent. Whether Harry admitted it or not, he respected his old Professor more than he even knew. Lily wished that she could have been there for her son all these difficult years, but knew that was a pointless wish.

Harry seemed to feel the wistfulness coming from his mother and he turned to her and gave her a hug.

"You may not have been in my life physically, but you were always there in your own way watching over me, and that means more than any other witch could," Harry whispered to her. She instantly teared up and gave him a hug to rival any Molly Weasley hug.

"I love you Harry, so much it hurts," she whispered back. His eyes watered. He'd waited so long to hear these words and feel this hug. It was all he'd ever wanted and more. He never wanted to let go. They stayed this way for several long minutes until Lily felt a hand on her shoulder. She glanced up and James was smiling down at her, so she loosened her grip on her only son. Harry clung to her for another few seconds and finally let go, tears pouring down his face. James crouched down and looked Harry in the eyes.

"Son, I've watched you grow older and I've seen such a resilience in you. You're a fighter, it's in your blood. I fought for your mother, you fought for the wizarding world. Don't get me wrong, your fight probably was the more noble and right thing to do, but if I hadn't fought for your mum, you wouldn't have been here to do you part.

"I love you Harry, very much, words can't express how proud I am of you. I remember the first time you sat up by your self, I nearly cried. Then, your first steps, and your first word, I nearly cried those times too. But when you got your fist broom…"

"He cried like a little baby, Harry, it was sickening," said Sirius and he and Remus both laughed loudly.

"I may have allowed a few tears to fall, but a son's first broom is a big deal!" James said back at them. "But I was never more proud of you when you walked into those woods by yourself. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do, in life and the afterlife, watching you walk to your death and act like it was okay. But you did it, and when you didn't show up on the other side, and I saw you open your eyes afterwards, I thought I was going to burst.

"Harry, you have been the best son you could have ever possibly been and I am so, unbelievingly proud of you. I love you son. I want you to go on and have many babies, live to a ripe old age of two hundred, and then join us here for a prank-off of the century!" James finished as he wiped away Harry's tears. Harry chuckled and nodded his head. Sirius walked forward and shoved James out of the way.

"Oh Harry! I must say, I was deeply shocked and surprised, no, disappointed, yes that's the word. I was shocked, surprised, and disappointed that you gave that house elf that necklace," he said with a stern look on his face. Harry who was expecting something else, burst out laughing.

"What? I'm being Sirius!" James and Remus groaned. "Let me explain, please? I was shocked that you did it. Surprised that it worked, and disappointed that I didn't think of it in the first place." Harry shook his head.

"Sirius you hated Kreacher, and he hated you. There was no way he'd be a good elf for you even if you gave him all of the Black family treasures in the entire house. He hated you too much. Also, you didn't have anything to offer him in ways of helping him come to terms with his past. I did. That's why he's good for me," Harry finished. Sirius looked thoughtful for a few moments.

"You know how surprised I was to find out Regulus was on our side? I nearly died of a heart attack after dying in the veil," he said ironically.

Everyone sat and talked with Harry for a few minutes. He talked with Remus and Tonks about their son.

"We left him everything Harry, and we want you to use that money if you're going to buy him something from now on. You shouldn't have to use your own money," Remus said quietly.

"Nonsense, Remus, I'm his godfather. How am I going to spoil him if I'm using his parents money? No, I'll be spending plenty of my own money on him. The things he needs as necessity will be from your vault and maybe a few gifts."

"Well, I guess I can see it from your point of view. But please, don't spoil him too much?" Remus sighed as Harry shook his head.

"Nope, sorry Remus, he is going to be so spoiled, it'll be sickening." Harry laughed along with Sirius, James, Colin, and Fred. Tonks and Lily both chuckled and went on with their own conversation.

"Well, the key to the vault is in the box George gave you. Along with several other things you'll find interesting. Sirius and I complied the box about a month before he died. There's also a lot of stuff in the vault for Teddy with he comes of age. Furniture and art for his house and such. Tonks and I also commissioned a portrait of ourselves. It's finished and in the vault. If you want, you can put it in your own home until Teddy is old enough to understand who we are," Remus said with a sad smile. Tonks heard what was being discussed and butted in.

"No, Remus, I'm going to have to insist, Harry must place that picture in his house so Teddy can see us all the time. When Teddy gets old enough and his own home, he can take the portrait with him, but I want in Harry's house until then. Got it Harry?" Harry nodded and smiled. It would be much easier to have the portrait with him for advice all the time.

Harry also talked with Fred and Colin about school, the shop, and random things.

"Harry, I know you plan on being an Auror, so I want you to hold your half of the shares over George's head. Since I died, my third of the shares was split evenly between you two and you both have equal shares, which means that you own half of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. You can do what you want with those shares but for now, hold onto them because if I know George, he'll try and do something stupid. Right now, he's not doing what he says he's doing with the shop. Percy went back to work for Kingsley and now, George is spending all his free time at the shop getting pissed and ignoring everyone. Since you are an equal share holder you can do what you want with the shop.

"I would like to ask you to hire some people. Lee, Katie, Alicia, and Angelina would be willing to help if just to get George back on his feet. I know that Verity would come back also. She has experience with the shop, the others can just help. I want the shop back open before term starts September first. Got it?" Harry saluted him with a smile. It was shocking that George wasn't doing as well as he thought but also understandable. He had lost a twin, which was like loosing a piece of your own soul.

Colin and Harry mostly talked about Denis and their father. His dad was understandably having a terrible time recovering. Denis was just as depressed but expressed himself in other ways, like bursting out in angry screaming if anyone tried to talk to him about Colin. Colin wanted to know if Harry would talk to Denis for him. If anyone could make Denis talk or feel better, it would be Harry. Denis may have been feeling not so great towards Harry at the moment but since Colin looked up to Harry so much, Denis would listen, or at least try. So Harry agreed to try as soon as they were back in England.

Once Harry had talked with everyone, they all stood.

"Harry, we'll miss talking with you. We all love you very much, and we all, all of us, want you to move on and stop thinking of the Stone. Leave it be, forget where it is, and never think about it again. Like the brothers said, the Stone would be your downfall. Will you promise me, you'll leave it in the forest?" Lily asked while she held Harry's hand. Harry took a deep breath and slowly nodded.

"We will always be able to hear you speak. We will try our best to answer you in our own ways, but try to just live. You have a long life ahead of you, Harry. We love you very much," James said as he hugged Harry. Sirius, Remus, and Tonks all gave Harry strong hugs and Tonks even gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Give my baby a kiss for me, please? Tell him it's from me, also," she whispered in his ear. He nodded sadly and moved to the next people in line.

He shook Fred's hand and they gave each other friendly one-armed pats on the back until Harry launched himself at Fred, hugging him strongly. Fred, after his initial surprise, hugged Harry back just as tightly.

"You'll always be my brother, Harry, never forget that," Fred said thickly. Harry nodded and stepped back. "Tell Ginny I love her. Ron, and George too, if you can." Harry said he would and moved on too Colin.

"I'm going to miss the DA lessons you taught. Just so you know, that's what kept me alive for as long as I was. I'll miss you Harry. Especially since I never really got that signed picture of you!" Harry choked back a sob at this comment and nodded.

"I'll miss you too, Colin. You could be annoying sometimes, but you were always there during the good times also. Thanks for being there, and here, for me," Harry said. Colin nodded and stepped back.

"Harry," Lily stepped forward. "We have to go now, darling. Would you like you go first or should we?" Harry had stared crying and sniffling. He took a deep breath and sighed shakily.

"I actually would like to go first, I don't think I could handle watching you all leave again," he whispered. He kept wiping his tears away, but they kept coming faster and faster.

"Alright, darling. All you have to do is wake up. And remember, we're always here for you. We love you, and we'll see you again someday," Lily said faintly. He voice was growing quieter.

"We love you Harry!" James, Sirius, Remus, and Tonks yelled out faintly. Fred and Colin waved as they all slowly disappeared into the whiteness.

"Harry!" Harry slowly wandered the white area searching for the voices he heard.

"Harry, wake up!"

"Ginny? Wake up, something's wrong with Harry!"

"Harry? What's wrong? Please wake up, Harry." He wanted too, but his body refused to cooperate. He was looking for the voices, but he couldn't find them in the blank void. Why was he even here? Where was here?

"I think we should go in the kitchen, let Ginny wake him up."

"Why?! I want to know what's wrong?"

"He might be embarrassed, Ron. Come on."

"Harry, please wake up? It's okay, it's just me in here, please?" Harry was trying and he was slowly regaining the ability to move. He felt a small warm hand in his. He squeezed and he heard her gasp.

"Come on Harry you can do it. Come back to me," Ginny whispered in his ear. It tickled and he moved his head so his ear was in the pillow under his head. He tried to open his eyes, but it felt like they were glued shut. Every step away from the white void, he lost why he was there in the first place. He knew he felt loved there, and he knew it was significant. But every time he heard this small voice call out his name, the memory moved farther and father away. He shook his head willing the memories to come back to him.

"Don't you shake your head at me, Harry James!" At this the memories came flooding back. The Peverell brothers, the Stone, his parents, Sirius, the Lupin's, Fred and Colin. All the memories came rushing back and his eyes began to water. The tear loosened the 'glue' holding his eyes shut and he opened them. The first thing he saw was concerned chocolate brown orbs staring back at him.

"Harry, what's wrong?" Ginny asked him in a small terrified voice. The last time he'd had a vision it had ended badly. They all knew that the only way Harry was one hundred percent sure that Voldemort was gone was that he no longer left him in the scar. If Harry was having visions again, that meant that it wasn't over yet.

Harry stared back at her, tears flowing. He sat up and pulled her to him and hugged her like there was no tomorrow. She held him back just as hard.

"It's okay, Harry, it was just a dream," she said quietly. She saw Hermione poke her head in the room to see what was going on and pulled her head back when she saw Harry was sitting up, awake.

"No, Gin, it wasn't. They came to me," Harry said with a small sob. Ginny began to panic. If he said it wasn't a dream, that meant visions and those were something they didn't want at all.

"Who came to you, Harry?" she whispered.

"My parents," he whispered back. She gasped. "And Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Fred, and Colin." Ginny was beginning to tear up.

"How do you know it wasn't—"

"A dream? Because, I just know. They told me they loved me and were proud of me," he sobbed. She held him as she contemplated his words. Of course his parents and Sirius and Remus were proud of him and loved him. How could he think otherwise? Then it hit her. He'd never heard it from them, not like she heard it from her parents.

At that moment of revelation, Ginny wanted nothing more than to burst into tears along with Harry, but knew that she needed to be strong for him.

"Oh, Harry, I know how much that must have meant for you to hear that," she whispered.

She could feel her night shirt getting soaked, but she didn't care. She saw Ron and Hermione poke their heads in the room and see Harry crying so hard and pull their heads back and Ginny just held Harry and let him cry. She didn't whisper any more words to him, she just allowed him to cry. She rubbed his back and ran her fingers through his hair and kissed the top of his head. For a long time Harry cried onto her shoulder, and she sat with him, holding him up, just like all the times in the past few weeks that he had done this same gesture for her. Now was the time for her to be strong for him.

After he began to calm down, he just held onto her like a life line. At some point she had begun a gentle rocking which he found oddly soothing. His tears were over, and he continued to lay in her arms.

"If you don't want to talk about it right now, Harry, I'll understand. Just know that I am always here for you to talk too, no matter what," Ginny said firmly. Harry nodded into her shoulder and felt the wetness. He sat up and brushed the remaining tears from his eye lashes and reached across her for his wand.

"Fervens aer," Harry said as he waved his wand over the wet patch of shirt. Ginny giggled as she felt it dry and become warm.

"Thanks," she said.

"Your welcome. I hope you don't mind that I used you as a tissue," Harry chuckled.

"No, I don't mind. For goodness sakes, I've done it to you plenty of times this last few weeks, it's about time I returned the favor," she replied with a soft giggle. Harry sighed.

"I miss them all so much, Gin." She nodded. " I need some time to come to terms with this Ginny, but I will talk to you about it, soon. Okay?" Harry asked. Ginny looked into his eyes and sighed.

"I understand Harry. Anyone else, and I would have had a problem with it, but I know that you'll tell me. I love you Harry," Ginny replied.

They sat and cuddled with each other for a while until Ron and Hermione knocked on the door frame for entrance. Ginny waved them in and they sat on the couch that Ron was using as a bed.

"Harry," Hermione began. Ginny interrupted.

"Harry will tell us when he's ready. Don't worry, it was just a dream right Harry?" she looked at him and with her eyes facing away from the others, winked. Harry smiled.

"Yeah, I just need some time to think about it. I will tell you that it was about my parents, Sirius, Remus, Tonks and Fred and Colin though, if that helps," said Harry quietly. Hermione and Ron nodded surprised that Harry had told them the little tidbit he did.

* * *

The rest of the day went normally for everyone. Mr. and Mrs. Granger put the teens to work, painting, scrubbing, and scouring the house while they took care of the outdoors business of trimming the shrubs, painting the shutters, and overall maintenance. No one brought up Harry's dream and Harry spent his day thinking hard. He kept a pencil and a piece of paper in his pocket and every once in a while he'd take it out and make a mark or write down a sentence and then put it away again. No one said anything if they caught him doing this and he was grateful for their silence. At ten pm, after another dinner of frozen pizzas and fizzy drinks, they all fell into their beds and were sleeping instantly.

Everyone but Harry. He sat up with a small notebook he'd found, writing. He wrote everything he could remember about the dream and what was said. After he was done recalling the dream, he spent a few hours writing his thoughts and plans about what he was going to do when he got back. When he was done he had a list.

To do when back in England:  
1. Talk to Lee, Alicia, Katie, Angelina, and Verity about working at the shop.  
2. Talk to George, let him know I hired people. Try to get him back on his feet.  
3. Visit Teddy, give him a kiss for Tonks.  
4. Get the key from the box and get the portrait of Remus and Tonks out.  
5. Find a place to put said Portrait.  
6. Talk to Denis.

Harry was happy with this and so he placed it in his bag and fell into his pillow, asleep before his head even hit the soft fluffy padding. His dreams were pleasant and cheerful and he was woken all too early for his liking the next morning. They only had a few hours left to clean before they were going to have a nap, then get up at half past nine and get ready for the Portkey.

Harry spent his morning acting like a zombie, walking around doing what everyone told him to do, and finally at noon, falling into his pillow once more.

* * *

A/N: wow, 12 reviews for one chapter! I am so happy right now! Just so you know, as soon as I posted the last chapter I began editing this one, and finished writing 20…this is what motivation does for me! Let me know what you thought of the dream/vision. Were you surprised? I want to say thanks to my anonymous reviewers, since I thank everyone: Joy, Rebecca, and katieluvshoes1234 thank you for the reviews! Hope you liked this chapter!

This chapter is dedicated to anyone who suffers from Brain Tumors or any type of brain cancer. I lost my best friend on the 6th to brain tumors she had been fighting for almost 5 years.

Next chapter: The return to England!


	20. Reconciliation

Disclaimer: yadda yadda not mine yadda yadda sucks to be me yadda yadda.

* * *

_**Reconciliation**_

"Arthur, they'll be there any minute! I want to be there to welcome them home. Come on!" Molly Weasley shouted at the shed her husband occupied at the moment.

Arthur poked his head out of the door of the shed and called back, "I'll be right in, dear!" He pulled his head back in and went over to his work bench. He picked up his newest device called a Boom Box, though he wasn't sure why it was called that. The muggle he got it from called it that, but all Arthur could get it to do was play a type of music with a lot of drum beats. He wanted to make it boom loudly like the name suggested but could figure how or why he would want a booming box.

He sighed and put it up on his shelf next to a little truck that had a long somewhat stiff wire poking out of the top, and a box labeled Six-20 'Brownie' E. He was told it was a camera, but he couldn't figure out how it worked.

Arthur walked out of his shed and up to the door of his home and saw his wife gathering a large basket of food and other lunch items into her arms and look around.

"Ah, Arthur, about time, could you take this for me and Floo over to Headquarters? Just place it on the table there," she said as she handed him the large basket. She ran out of the room and returned with a bundle of laundry.

"Well, are you going to go, or not?" she asked. Arthur smiled and nodded as he and the basket turned towards the fireplace. He fumbled with the basket for a moment when Molly walked over and picked up a handful of Floo Powder and threw it in. He kissed her goodbye and he stepped in and shouted, "Headquarters!"

As he whooshed away, Molly packed a few more things and hurried towards the fireplace.

When she was finally stopped at headquarters, she looked around. The place was oddly cleaner than she remembered, and smelled better too. But it was still grim and dark in the kitchen. She placed the rest of her stuff on the table next to the basket and went to the sitting room where she found Arthur.

He was sitting in a chair reading a muggle book called Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston. He was chuckling at something when he heard a loud pop across the room. He looked up to see a ragtag group of people standing holding a long umbrella. Four of the people were teens and the two adults were looking rather stunned.

"Ah, Ron, Ginny, Harry, and Hermione! Your back. I'm glad, everything worked out with the Portkey. I trust there were no problems then?" Arthur asked as he stood up.

"No, Mr. Weasley everything worked just fine, thank you for your help," Hermione replied quickly. "Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, I'd like to formally introduce my parents, Jane and Michael Granger." Mr. and Mrs. Granger shook Molly and Arthur's hands while Ron and Ginny helped Harry up off the floor. He had stumbled upon arrival and all the bags and luggage had landed on top of him.

"I must be going soon, but first, Harry a word, please?" Arthur said. Harry looked at Ron and Ginny and they shrugged so he followed the eldest Weasley to the kitchen. Mr. Weasley placed a heavy charm on the door to prevent eavesdroppers and sat down at the table gesturing to Harry to do the same.

"Harry, a few days ago a letter arrived for you at the Burrow. It came from a large Eagle Owl owned by the Malfoy's. The letter will not allow anyone but you to open it, but I feel it necessary to use precautions. Alright?" When Harry nodded Arthur went on. "I'm going to have you put on these spell resistant gloves while you open the letter, then I'll do my job and scan it for extra spells and curses. So, here you go," said Arthur as he handed Harry a pair of Dragon hide gloves and an envelope. Harry put on the gloves and picked up the envelope. Arthur watched on as he opened the envelope and set it on the table.

Arthur spent a few minutes scanning the letter which was still folded and sitting next to the envelope on the table. As soon as Arthur gave Harry a reluctant nod Harry picked it up and started to read it.

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_I am sure you are shocked to see a letter from the Noble family of Malfoy addressed to yourself, but please hear me out._

_In the forest, after the Dark Lord set the Killing Curse at you and you survived (yet again) and he sent me over to see if you were dead, I believe a Life Debt was created that night when I saved your life by lying to the Dark Lord. It was at the expense of my family that I uttered that lie to keep you alive and I do believe that you owe me for that. For if I had not done what did, you would have lost._

_I have a feeling that you will not want to be in debt to me for long. If you do not understand the nature of a Life Debt, understand this. It will be paid. No matter what, the universe will have the debt paid some day, whether you wait until I die and you die also, or by killing yourself to keep me alive._

_I am offering you a chance to fulfill the debt here and now. Go to the Wizengamot and testify that my son and I did not have a choice in how our home was used. I don't care if you tell them my husband forced us. I care not what happens to that fool. He can rot in Azkaban for all I care. He brought this family to its near doom. We are a laughing stock to all society and it is his doing._

_Tell them that my Draco was forced to attempt to murder Albus Dumbledore, and that he did not succeed because he could not do the deed. Tell them also that when you were captured he tried hard to stall when he was asked to identify you. You yourself have seen that Draco tried to help, but if he had he would have been killed on the spot. What would you have done?_

_My son is my life and I don't know what I would do if he were sent to Azkaban. I would even take his place if must._

_I am asking you to please do this and I will consider the Life Debt you owe me terminated._

_Please reply by Sunday, May 17th, nightfall by Owl post._

_Sincerely,_

_Narcissa Malfoy_

Harry finished the letter and sat for a moment contemplating it. Arthur sat patiently and watched Harry's expression grew surprised, then confused, and finally to the black look he now held.

Suddenly, Harry threw his head back and laughed loudly causing Arthur to jump. Arthur's curiosity was now piqued and he waited for Harry to finish his bout of laughter.

"Er, Harry, I'd like to know what so funny," said Arthur. Harry looked over the letter after he finished reading it a second time.

"Narcissa Malfoy is asking for my help keeping her son Draco out of prison," Harry chuckled. "Mr. Weasley, what do you know about Life Debts? Can the holder of a Life Debt call out the person who owes them and dictate a way for the Debt to be fulfilled?" Arthur looked at Harry cautiously.

"Well, I'm not quite sure. Life Debt's are tricky things Harry. I believe it all has to do with how the person who owes the debt feels about how they became the…how do I say, the person who owes the debt. If they feel that it was a deed that requires a Life Debt, then there is a debt. If they don't feel that what the other person did saved their life, then there is no debt.

"Now, about the other question. I do not think that a person can dictate when and how a Life Debt is paid off. That's not how the universe works. But I could be wrong. You could ask Hermione, goodness knows she's probably read something about them, and I could try to find a book at Flourish and Blotts for you later today when I get off work, alright?" Arthur stood as he spoke as did Harry.

"I think I'll do that with Hermione later, and I would appreciate a book if you can even find them, thank you Mr. Weasley," Harry replied as the older man removed the charms off the door and opened the door. Harry looked down at the floor and saw a pile of Dungbombs on the floor and chuckled. The two men walked back to the sitting room together.

"Mum, how long is dad going to keep Harry locked in the stupid kitchen? I want to know what's going on," Harry heard Ginny say.

"I don't know dear. All I know is an owl came for Harry while you were away and your father was concerned about it. Ah, here they are, now you can quit whining Ginevra," Mrs. Weasley said. Harry looked around and saw that it was only Ginny and her mum in the room together.

"Where'd Hermione, Ron, and her parents go?" asked Harry. Ginny walked over to where he had sat down and sat next to him.

"They took her parents upstairs to their room. Ron also took your bags and his to you your room. What was all that about in the kitchen?" Ginny asked quickly. Harry smiled at her.

"Why don't we go find Hermione and Ron and I'll explain. Hello, Mrs. Weasley, how are you doing?" Harry stopped to give the woman a quick hug. It was the first time he ever initiated a physical gesture towards the matronly woman and she was surprised. She hugged him back as she swiped a few tears away.

"Oh, you charmer. I'm doing okay. Better than before, but I still have my good days and my bad days. Today's a good day since I've missed you all and now your back for a while. Go on and find Ron and Hermione, dears," Mrs. Weasley said quietly. She sat back and continued her knitting as they walked out of the room. As soon as the door shut, Ginny tackled him.

"Gin, what was that for?" Harry asked as he lay on the floor after a quick snog.

"That was so sweet, Harry. She's always thought you needed more hugs but since you never hugged her first she resisted hugging you all the time. I've never seen you hug someone first except me and Hermione sometimes. I'm just touched that you did that for my mum," she said as she wiped away a tear. Harry helped her up and they wandered up the stairs. They found Ron and Hermione in the drawing room in a sweet embrace.

"Hem, hem," Ginny said in a perfect mock-Umbridge voice. The two broke apart quickly and jumped to opposite sides of the couch, looking around wildly. When they saw Harry and Ginny laughing in the doorway they both scowled.

"What was that for Ginny?" asked Ron loudly.

"Hush up Romeo, or mum'll hear you. Harry's done talking with dad and I thought you'd want to know what it was all about," Ginny stated as she pulled Harry into the room and to a sofa.

"Really? Harry, what did he want to talk to you about?" Ron asked, the earlier disagreement forgotten. Harry spent the next few minutes reading the letter to them.

"So, she wants you to lie to the Wizengamot? That, that's…absurd! That's so stupid!" Hermione stuttered.

"That's hilarious is what I think. If anything it's Malfoy who owes you a Life Debt mate, you're the one who pulled him out of the Fiendfyre," Ron replied chuckling.

"What are you going to do, Harry? She basically demanded that you reply today, that wench," Ginny said maliciously.

"I think I'm going to reply, but I'm not sure what to say. I'd like to know more about Life Debts before I say anything else though," said Harry with a frown. He stood up and walked over to the writing desk and pulled out a piece of parchment and an Ever-Ink Quill and went back to the couch.

"I think I'll reply today, but I'll only say something like, I'm going to be out of the country for another week. I'll think of your generous offer some more, and reply later with an answer. What do you think?" Harry asked looking at Hermione.

"Hmm, I think it needs a little more, I don't know, insinuations of how rude she's being. Maybe you need to be more rude to her," she said. Ron chuckled.

"I don't think I ever thought I'd hear you tell someone to me _more_ rude," he laughed. Harry and Ginny chuckled also.

"I don't really want to be rude, Hermione. I would like to, but I just feel like the only reason the world gets the way it was is because people are rude to one another. I'll treat like an equal, which in a way will irritate her even more. She thinks she's above everyone else, when she's not. For someone to treat her as an equal when she thinks they are below her, will make her think that no one thinks as highly of her as she wants them too." Harry started writing and the others waited. Ten minutes later Harry stopped writing and held up the paper to read to them.

"Dear Mrs. Malfoy, I must say I was surprised to see your letter. Even more surprised at it's content. I was out of the country until earlier today, and I will be out of the country once more in a few days. I'll be spending a week relocating some people back to England and it will consume most of my time. After that I will be very busy doing other things I don't feel it necessary to explain in this letter.

"I do understand the nature of a Life Debt and that it will under any circumstances be fulfilled. I however wish to remind you, or in the case that your son has not informed you I will enlighten you, I saved Draco's life earlier that same night that you spoke of when his crony Vincent Crabbe set off a Fiendfyre spell in a room in the castle. I jumped on a broom and pulled Draco to safety as well. So, if we are discussing Life Debts I feel it imperative to mention his Life Debt to me.

"Maybe we can consider his life debt as canceling mine out. As the one you are holding over my head will technically save him, there is no point, because if I save him once more, he'll just owe me two Life Debts. Wouldn't you agree?

"Besides, I don't think one can dictate how or when a Life Debt is fulfilled. That's _not_ how the universe works. I will make my decision in the next week or so and get back to you.

"My regards, Harry Potter." Harry finished reading and his friends burst out laughing.

"Harry that's brilliant! She's going to be so angry," said Ron gleefully.

"That was written very well, Harry. You were just as rude as she was and in the same way. It wasn't blatantly rude but you can tell where you were being sarcastic. Very well written," said Hermione with a nod.

"Thanks Hermione, I get my writing skills from you correcting all my essays for me, thank you by the way!" Harry chuckled.

"If this is the result, then I'm glad I did it for you," she replied. Ginny took the letter from Harry and reread it to herself.

"I think you should tell mum and dad about this Harry and ask them if your reply is okay. They might be able to add something you would think of," Ginny said quietly. Harry nodded and the two stood up.

"Where are you two going?" Ron asked. Hermione was sitting with her legs over his and he was playing with her hair.

"We're going to talk to mum about the letter and Harry's reply. Want to come?" Ginny asked knowing the answer. Five minutes later they were sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of tea with Mrs. Weasley.

"So, Harry, do you think Draco is worth all this? Do you think he's innocent?" molly asked. Harry thought for a moment.

"There is no getting around it, Draco was a complete jerk at school, but I was at the top of the tower when Professor Snape killed Dumbledore. Draco was there first but he couldn't do it, he was going to do what Dumbledore said and lower his wand when the other Death Eaters showed up.

"The only other times I saw him were in flashes of Tom's sight or visions. In each of those, he wasn't looking so good. He was either being forced to do something or being tortured for doing something wrong. When we were captured and brought to Malfoy Manor and he was asked who we were he tried to stall and not say it was me. During the final battle, he was going to bring me to Voldemort, but he couldn't catch me. I saved his life and later Ron saved him too.

"I think Draco, while not innocent, he's not guilty either. Does that make sense? He could have found someone in the Order and asked for help, but he didn't. Does that make him innocent, the fact that he's never taken a life, but he's watched others be killed?" Harry looked towards Mrs. Weasley and she smiled at him.

"Welcome to adult-hood, Harry. This is the time where you have to make hard decisions, and not everything is as black and white as it always has been. Now there are many shades of gray, and it's up to you to decipher whether Draco is truly innocent or guilty by association.

"In either case, you know he hasn't done anything, but it's the things that he hasn't done that are what is making this difficult. He didn't turn himself in, he didn't find help when he should have, and he was forced into doing what was not right by those who were in higher power than his own. I think it's up to you to make the decision to plea bargain his innocence to the Wizengamot. But you need to know one thing.

"You are a hero to the wizarding world. They will take what you have to say, and they will seriously consider it. No one would want to cross you right now, because they would make themselves a public enemy. If you were to say Draco Malfoy was innocent, they probably would let him off," Molly finished and took a sip of tea while Harry contemplated what she had said. Ginny was looking at her mother in a new light while Harry stared into his tea cup.

"Harry, you may not be my child, but I feel like you are one of my own. What Narcissa did in that forest may have been for a selfish reason, but if I were to see her on the street, I will thank her. If it weren't for her, you would be dead, and I'd have lost more than just Fred that night. I am grateful to her," said Mrs. Weasley as she stood and walked to the sink to put her cup away. She left the kitchen and Harry sitting next to Ginny sighed.

"Gin, I think it's time for me to tell you and Ron and Hermione about my dream I had." He stood and placed his cup in the sink while Ginny followed suit. They walked upstairs in silence and found the others in the same place they left them in.

Harry spent the next half an hour telling them of the two parts of his dream/vision. About the Burrow and the children. Ginny and Hermione giggled and blushed at the parts where he told them about all the kids and being pregnant still. Ron enjoyed hearing about his children also. When he got to the part about the Deathly Hallows the others were shocked that Harry had been having those thoughts.

Harry choked up at the explanation about his parents and loved ones showing up. All four were tearing up at the heart warming reunion and chuckling at the Marauder antics. When Harry finished the girls were silently crying and clinging to their counterpart boyfriends and Harry and Ron were both wiping away a few stray tears also.

"Anyways, Fred, Colin and Tonks all gave me something I need to do today and tomorrow before we leave so I plan on going to a few places the next two days. I may need some help from you guys at some point, because I don't want to leave anything for another week." He explained the situation with George, Denis, and his to do list he made and what he needed to do. The girls offered to get in contact with Lee, Alicia, Katie, and Angelina for him while he ran to the shop to talk to George. He asked that they contact Andromeda and ask if he could visit before they left also.

He made plans that while he was out he'd stop at Gringotts and make another withdrawal but first he needed to talk to Bill about the Goblins and how they were feeling towards him at the moment.

He looked at his watch and saw it was noon. He planned on seeing George and then possibly Denis later in the day. The next day, he'd hire the others for the shop and go to the bank to get the portrait. If it came down to it, he could always wait to get the portrait until he returned since he'd not be able to talk with it much before the trip.

"So right now all that's stopping you is needing to talk to Bill? I'll run down and ask mum, if I can Floo him." Ron left the room at a trot and came back a few minutes later. "Mum, says that she'll Floo them and ask them to come over since they have something they need to tell us anyways." Ginny and Hermione sat and talked about what Bill and Fleur had to tell them while the guys discussed Harry's plans.

"So today, your going to go check on George, go to Gringotts if it's safe, and then go over and visit Denis. Then, if you have some time, you're going to visit Teddy? Sounds like a busy day, Harry, want me to come along with you?" Ron asked. Harry nodded while he was looking at a long piece of parchment. It was his to do list and another list that Hermione added on of things to get ready for the America trip.

"Yeah, though after George and possibly Gringotts you may want to come back and switch with Ginny. I know she wanted to see Denis again, and then we can go see Teddy together. How does that sound?" Ron nodded and Harry looked to his list for the next days work.

"Tomorrow, I'm going to have to work a bit at the shop and get it ready. I'll have to meet with the others to see if they want to work there for a while, and if they do I'll have to show them what to do and so on. Problem is I have no idea how to run a shop, and with the way Fred explained it, George is in no way fit to run the shop. I just hope Verity can come back. She's worked there and knows how to do everything," Harry trailed off. "Okay, Hermione, Ginny, what've you got for the letters?"

"Well," Hermione began. "I've got the ones for Verity, Angelina, and Alicia done. Ginny is just finishing up with Lee's and Katie's. We'll need an owl for all this and Pig is too small."

"You can borrow Hermes. He's strong enough for all of that. He's pretty reliable also," said Percy from the doorway.

"Hello, Percy, and thank you, is Hermes here?" Harry asked. Percy came in and sat on a lounge chair.

"No, he's at my flat, but I can pop over there after lunch if that's acceptable?" Percy replied. Ron snorted silently and Hermione elbowed him.

"Yes," Harry smiled. "That's just fine, Percy. Thank you." Percy looked at Harry carefully.

"I must apologize, Harry. I happened to overhear a part of your conversation with my brother a minute ago. You mentioned Fred, and that he told you something about George. I hate to impose, but what did you mean by that?" Percy leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and his fingers clasped under his chin. Harry saw deep bags under his eyes and his hair looked unwashed. Overall, he looked as if he'd been very busy, and at the same time slightly depressed. He was thin, and his clothes hung off of him, and he hunched his back as if he had been used to carrying lots of heavy things all at once for long periods of time.

"Well, I kind of had a dream in which my parents, godfather, Remus, Tonks, Colin, and Fred came to me. Colin and Fred told me that their brothers were having very difficult times coping and I needed to help them. Fred told me that George was very depressed and he wasn't ready to open the shop. Since I hold half the shares of the WWW, I'm going to hire some people to work the shop, and hopefully get George out of his slump." Harry watched Percy's face as he explained his dream. Percy's face grew confused as he listened.

"So Fred came to you in a dream and told you all of this. You are planning to do all of this today and tomorrow, and you haven't even asked George yet?" Percy asked with a frown.

"Well, Fred said that George wasn't really ready to open the shop, so I figured that if the shop was running George might feel more up to helping out if he's needed on a daily basis. Does that make sense?" Ron, Hermione, and Ginny sat watching the discussion confused as to where it was going. Percy seemed to be getting more and more befuddled and angry as Harry spoke.

"I just think it isn't right that you're stepping in and doing this without even talking to George first. What if that dream was just that, a dream? You may be overstepping your bounds, Harry. George wont take kindly to that," Percy was shaking his head as he spoke. Ron bristled at the comment about Harry.

"How could he be overstepping his bounds, Percy, if he owns half the shop? If anything, he's looking out for his own interests. How is that wrong? George is depressed, we all know that. Hell, you've been working with him, you should know first hand that he's not ready," Ron stated loudly. Percy looked down at his hands and mumbled something unintelligibly.

"Excuse me? What was that? Speak up Perce," Ron said menacingly.

"I haven't been working at the shop for about four days now," Percy sighed. Ginny and Ron exploded.

"What?!" Hermione and Harry calmed their counterparts as Percy hung his head.

"What do you mean Percy? Where have you been working?" Hermione asked quietly.

"The…Ministry," he replied.

"Why?" asked Harry. Percy sighed.

"Kingsley asked me. He said he was understaffed and he needed reliable people to work with him. He knows, roughly, who not to trust, but at the moment, unreliable people out weight the reliable. So all the trustworthy people are working overtime and doing their best to help, but it's not working very well. Too many people left over from the corrupt Ministry are making life and work difficult.

"When Kingsley asked me to come be his personal assistant, I…well, I've always wanted this job. I talked to George and told him how much I wanted to do this and he said he understood. So I went," Percy stated. "He was doing a lot better when I left him. He was ready to open the shop, and wanted to open it too. I made up a list of things for him to get done and told him I'd check in if I got the chance." Ginny stood up and started pacing. They all waited for the explosion and weren't disappointed.

"I can't believe you Percy! Why do you always put yourself before your own family? George is in a bad place right now, he is a suicide risk! You saw him at Hogwarts, he almost succeeded in killing himself! If it wasn't for Harry and Ron's combined Accio spells he would have fallen! You left him alone in his flat, where he was surrounded by reminders of Fred for four days! How could you do this?! You are so…so…selfish!" Ginny yelled loudly in his face, her fists balled in rage. Percy stood up his face red and his eyes wide and started yelling.

"Selfish? You went off on a little vacation barely a week after your own brother died!" All four teens gasped at the harsh insinuation. "But I stayed at the flat with George for a few days and spent time talking with him. I felt that he was stable enough for me to move out and back to my own flat. I've been working my arse off for this Ministry and this country for the last four days. I've only gotten five hours of sleep in the last four days, and that was because I passed out in the Ministers office at one in the morning and no one found me until six! I haven't gotten a vacation, I'm not going to get to go to America for a week and have fun. No, I get to stay here and work my arse off and practically kill myself for this job I've wanted since dad told me about how the Ministry works when I was seven!" Percy yelled. Ginny wiped the tears from her face that had started after Percy accused them of leaving George.

"You don't even know what we were doing in Australia Percy, we spent the whole time there cleaning and packing up a house for Hermione parents. We got a half a day to do something fun, and let me tell you, these three needed it! They spent the last 10 months chasing Voldemort and living out of a tent! Harry just save the whole country from a dark wizard, he deserves a vacation, but no! He has to go rescue more people, and help out more people when he should be getting a vacation! So yes, we took a day for ourselves, and guess what? It wasn't even a full day! How dare you insinuate that we would just leave George alone when he was like that because we wanted too! I know I wouldn't have left if I had known his own brother would be leaving him alone for days on end! I thought you or mum, or dad would be with him, or I wouldn't have left! You are the one who left him alone! And for what? A job?! That is so typical Percy, job over family. You never do the right thing!" Ginny screamed at him.

"Am I ever going to get anything right with this family?! I've always been the outcast, no one ever wanted to play with boring Percy as kids. No, Percy was too boring with his Cauldron bottoms, and his Head Boy badge. But when did any of you bother with me or ask me to do something fun? Did any of you think to ask me how I was doing after Fred died? No! Percy's been estranged, he wont have as hard a time with his brother's death as the rest of us. He can watch over the distraught brother for us! He can do it, he's Percy, the brother with no heart!

"Did you ever think that maybe I was putting my own personal beliefs over everything when I left? Huh? Did you pause to think that maybe, just maybe, when my own beliefs came crashing down that I would have a hard time of it? No, it was all, he deserved what he got, he's the one who needs to come crawling back when he realizes his mistake and maybe we'll take him back. Maybe!

"Here's a newsflash for you Gin-Gin, I tried! I tried to come back, but when I got to the house, no one was there! It was abandoned! You were all at Muriel's, under Fidelius. I couldn't get to you! I couldn't even send an owl to you for fear that it would get intercepted! So I had to remain with that damn Ministry, acting like one of the bad guys, like I agreed with them that all Muggles and Muggleborn were scum on the bottom of my shoes! How do you think that affected me? Huh? Well, I'll tell you, I hate myself! I hate myself so much that I was just about ready to jump out that window with George!" Percy choked back a sob. "It wasn't until I saw Fred and he forgave me, that I started to heal. But you want to know something, I still hate myself. I probably will always hate myself! But I keep going on, doing what I think is right, because right now, we need good people in the Ministry. Next time, Ginevra, take a moment to think about how others are feeling before you run off at the mouth!" Percy turned and started to storm out of the room.

"Percy! Wait!" Ginny called out. Percy stopped but didn't turn around.

"Did you really try to find us?" Ginny asked in a small voice. She let her tears run down her face freely. She stood facing her older brother's back, hoping he'd turn around.

"Yes. Around Easter. I couldn't take the lies anymore," Percy responded with a small sob.

"P-Percy…" Ginny watched as he turned around. They were both crying as were the others in the room. Ginny slowly walked towards Percy and when she reached him she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him for the first time since before her second year.

Percy stood stock still as his youngest sibling and only sister hugged him and cried into his shirt. Awkwardly, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and hugged her back. Soon the awkwardness disappeared and they cried into each others shoulders. Ron stood up and walked over and pulled them both into his arms as well, and the siblings shared a hug that was a long time coming.

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A/N: Wow this last scene came out of nowhere! I liked where it ended so I left it, I'm just glad that it was just over my minimum word count. I like it, do you? Happy Friday the 13th! I love this super day! Lol, be happy because I haven't gotten 21 finished and posting this early is a treat for alls you people, so be nice, Review Please!


	21. Hero Harry

Disclaimer: So I realized today, I'm not a wealthy, rich, Brit. I don't have millions of dollars, and I definitely don't have a cool accent, so therefore, I am not Joanne Rowling. Bummer for me…

**(I also did not write the quote used from Philosopher's Stone, I just borrowed that…)

**A slight warning for this chapter of implied violence and alcohol abuse…very possibly an emotional roller coaster…just thought I'd mention it.

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_**Hero Harry**_

After lunch, Harry waited in the sitting room for Bill. Bill and Fleur had arrived shortly before lunch and the whole family enjoyed roast beef sandwiches and crisps with crisp, cold pumpkin juice to drink. Bill told Harry he'd meet him in the sitting room after getting Fleur settled in their room. She was tired from the trip and needed a nap.

Harry sat and twiddled his thumbs waiting. He watched a portrait on the wall sleeping, and it appeared to be dreaming because it would twitch every once in a while. Harry tapped his fingers on the arm rest of the chair he was sitting on until Bill showed up.

"Ah, sorry about that Harry. Fleur's been a little picky lately about the bed she sleeps in. I had to transfigure the one upstairs into an exact replica of our at home, and that's not easy. But what did you want to talk about? My guess would be Gringotts?" Bill chuckled at Harry's surprised face.

"Yes, actually it is, how'd you know?" he asked the older man.

"Well, the last time I really spent much time with you was at Shell Cottage while Griphook was recovering. You four left and later I find out you broke into Gringotts, stole something, and set free one of their dragons and broke back out after being cornered. It doesn't help that before you left for Australia you asked me, to get out a large amount of money, and change it to Muggle Australian dollars instead of going yourself, am I right?" Bill inquired.

"Spot on. What I want to know right now is, do you think I waited long enough before going back? Is there anything I need to know about before I go today?" asked Harry. Bill chuckled.

"Well the easy answer would be no. The long answer would be, Hell no you haven't waited long enough. I say this because of one reason. You stole something from Goblins. Do you not remember the warning engraved on the door?" Bill smiled. Harry thought for a moment.

"Er, Enter stranger…sinful greed…thief we warned you, I can't really remember all of it, but I got the gist of it," Harry replied. Bill was sniggering to himself.

"Enter, stranger, but take heed  
Of what awaits the sin of greed,  
For those who take, but do not earn,  
Must pay most dearly in their turn.  
So if you seek beneath our floors,  
A treasure that was never yours,  
Thief, you have been warned, beware  
Of finding more than treasure there."*

Bill recited verbatim the words Harry remembered reading so many years ago. "Like I said, Harry, you stole from the Goblins. They are not happy. If they had their way, you'd be in prison right now. Paying for your crimes."

"But, it was necessary! We had to do it, there was no way, I'd be able to just waltz in and ask for something in the Lestrange vault. That'd never go over, I'd have been arrested for being Undesirable Number One, and probably brought straight to Voldemort. The cup was something we needed to have to defeat Voldemort. There's no getting around it. If they thought about it, after we took that blasted cup, Voldemort was dead less than twenty-four hours later and the war was over! The dragon thing was a surprise and spur of the moment. If I could replace it, I would," Harry stopped and thought. "What can I do to get back into their good grace?" Bill thought for a moment.

"Go to prison," he said. Harry threw a ball of paper at him.

"I'm being serious, Bill!"

"And so am I. How can I explain to you their way of thinking? They have been the wizarding worlds only source of gold for centuries. Not because no one tried to compete with them, but because they are so obsessed with Gold and financing that people know that goblins will protect their money to the death.

"Let me put it this way. Imagine a Goblin standing in the middle of the road. On one side of the road there is a Galleon, and the other side of the road, a human baby in danger, about to be killed. The Goblin would almost always go for the Galleon first, even if it meant that the human child was killed. The only way they'd save the baby was if there was a profit in it for them, if they could in some way make more than the one Galleon by saving a human, they would. Otherwise, it's profit before heroism."

"That's horrible!" Harry said emphatically. Bill shrugged and nodded his agreement.

"That's just how Goblins are. You broke the law, and it cost them money. To them, it doesn't matter if you saved the world, if you cost them a Knut, you'd have to pay. You actually cost them much more damage than you think. Nearly, a million Galleons in damage and the cost of a fully grown, not to mention, trained dragon, which is worth nearly two million Galleons. You don't have that kind of money to pay them back, and if you did the public would be infuriated that you had to pay. You saved them, you're a hero, and you shouldn't have to pay the Goblins back, since they benefit from what you did. They no longer have the threat of enslavement by Voldemort hanging over them. Do you understand?" Bill stopped. Harry took a deep breath.

"I think so. But is there anything I can do to make it even a little bit better? A public apology? What if I can get a new trained Dragon for them in a few years? Hagrid could train it…" Harry trailed off.

"I don't think an apology would work. In a way, that would be more insulting to them. Because of the fact that you believe that what you did was necessary, you wouldn't be telling the truth when you said you were sorry, because of the underlying, unsaid, 'but I feel it was necessary' comment. Do you understand?" Bill watched Harry's mind wrap around the actuality that his actions were causing so many problems.

"There is something you could do. But it would be drastic. I know that you have quite a lot of money. Enough to live off of for many years. Enough that if you were to withdraw all your money, the Goblins would take a bit hit. Big enough for them to forget any past misdeeds. Understand what I'm getting at?" asked Bill. Harry shook his head and Bill sighed.

"Harry, if the wizarding public found out that you withdrew all your money because you would have been in danger going back to the bank, they would do the same. After so many people take out their money, Gringotts would loose profit. And we all know that profit is the most important thing to them. They have a contract with our government that states that they will not withhold anyone's money, for any reason and they are not allowed to raise their fees and charges above a certain amount. The combination of one of their wealthiest clients plus many more people withdrawing all their money, and not being able to raise fees and charges to counter the missing profit, they'd be forced to either go under and loose profit until they forgave you, or start a war with our government by breaking their contract which in the end, would only cause themselves more problems. Understand now?" Harry nodded slowly.

"I guess so, I don't like the idea but it'll have to do. Should I send someone else to get my money, or do it myself?" Harry asked. Bill thought for a minute.

"Definitely don't do it by yourself, but I think it would be better if you did it in person. Maybe you'd be able to avoid all this nastiness by talking to the elder Goblins and making them understand that it's either they forgive you for doing something you had too, or you withdraw all your money. I could go with you, but I could loose my job, Dad could go with you. He doesn't work for them and he understands them reasonably well. But I wouldn't do it today, or even while you're here for a couple days, do it when you return. Okay?" Harry nodded.

"Well, when you get back I can talk to you more about this. Fleur's out for a while now, did you want me to run up there and get you some more money and change it to American Dollars for you?" asked Bill as he stood up.

"Well, yeah, I guess. Could you stop by another vault for me, and pick up a portrait also?" requested Harry as he also stood up.

"Whose vault? And what portrait?" inquired Bill. Harry searched his pockets and pulled out two keys.

"Remus and Tonks'. They commissioned a portrait of themselves before they died, and I only found out about it from the box of stuff they left me and Teddy. They want me to put it up where ever I live, so that Teddy can visit me and see them. They knew they might not live through the war, and they didn't want their son to live without knowing them at all. I kind of wish my parents would have done that. It'll be great for Teddy growing up, and for me, when I'm left alone with him and have no idea what to do." Bill laughed loudly.

"That it will. It's going to be entertaining seeing you as a father figure. Hopefully, this will put you off until your married," Bill bobbed his eyebrows at Harry, who scoffed.

"How do you know I haven't already?" Harry jokingly implied. Bill's look of horror was all his gratification before he answered his own question. "No, I haven't. But it was worth it to see your face!" Harry laughed and dodged the older man's grab and darted out of the room and up the stairs yelling, "I think about six hundred American dollars should do it, Bill, thanks!"

Harry arrived in the drawing room out of breath and snorting. Hermione, Ron, and Ginny all looked up at him. He chuckled as he explained why he was laughing, and Ron's snort of disgust and Ginny and Hermione's chuckles encouraged him and he laughed some more.

After the laughing died down, he explained what Bill had told him about Goblins and what he should do. The others were appalled at the Galleon/Baby analogy, but understood why it was true. Hermione and Ron wondered aloud if they would be getting similar treatment from the Goblins since they were with Harry, and Ginny agreed with Bill that Harry should remove his money before they stole it all to pay for the damage he caused.

Percy came back to the Drawing room after returning from his flat to retrieve Hermes and the girls handed him the letters needing to be sent. Harry quickly read over one of them to make sure they were okay.

_Dear Katie, I am sorry to be so abrupt, but could you visit the Burrow tonight around 8:30 pm. I need to ask you something, and I don't want to do it in a letter. It's about George. If you can't meet tonight, I'll understand, just let me know if you can't make it and we'll set up a different plan. Floo is available, all you have to say is The Burrow. Thanks, Harry Potter._

"They all say that, just different names after Dear," Hermione said. Harry nodded and placed the note back in the envelope. Percy left to send off his owl with the five envelopes while Harry and Ron left for the shop with a package of sandwiches for George from his mum. They Floo'd to The Leaky Cauldron and walked to the shop from there.

"Harry," Ron started. "Do you think George is really as bad as Fred said? What if this is a huge prank from beyond the grave. That is the kind of thing Fred would do, don't you think?"

"I'd actually be thankful if it was a prank. It would mean I wouldn't have to exert my non-existent power over George. I just have a bad feeling about this. I can't explain why though. George might get really angry that I am pulling this stunt over shares. I know what it's like wanting to be alone, and wallow in self-pity but have an annoying git make me stop." Harry smiled and shoved Ron.

"An annoying git am I? Let me tell you something Mr. Hero, if I didn't make you stop, you'd be wallowing for a much longer time. Sometimes you just need a push out of the wallow-stage to get yourself back to normal. I hope this push will help George. It'd be really cool to have WWW all over the world! He'd be rich, and being his only younger brother, he'd be inclined to spend his money on me!" Ron said as he swaggered ahead of Harry who was laughing.

"What about Ginny, she's his only sister, and she's younger than you. Wouldn't he want to spend his money on her, not you?" Harry asked as he pushed Ron into a barrel of Frog Spawn sitting in front of the Apothecary. Ron side stepped the barrel and tripped over a step and landed in a pile of street trash.

"Urgh! That's disgusting! Thanks a lot Harry!" Harry reached over and pulled Ron to his feet, although the task was proving difficult as he was laughing very hard. Ron gave a tug and Harry fell forward with a yell. Now both were sitting in a pile of refuse laughing and trying not to touch it.

After they were upright once more and cleaned off with a wave of their wands, they continued onward to the shop.

"Actually Harry, getting back to what we were talking about before you pushed me into that garbage, Ginny has you, and you own half the shares. You will be rich on your own, and she can just use your money. Percy, has his dream job, Charlie has his, and even Bill has his. I don't have a job, or a rich boyfriend to spend his money on me, so by default, George will want to spend his money on me. Understand?" Ron looked over at Harry to see him bent over laughing. "What did I say?" Ron asked.

"You don't…have a…rich…boyfriend! Poor Ron, all alone in this…cruel world, with no boyfriend to pamper him. You poof!" Harry was having a hard time standing, as he was laughing so hard. Ron's face turned red after realizing what he'd said, and he went to push Harry over since he was having a hard time standing anyways, but as he pushed Harry grabbed his arm to stop him and they both fell down, Ron landing on top of Harry. This provocative pose made Ron curse loudly and scramble to get up while Harry laughed even harder. Harry lay on the ground howling with mirth while Ron jumped up and scrambled a few steps away from his friend.

After Ron was safely far enough away, he saw the humor in the whole situation and began to laugh also. The two made quite a sight, sitting in the middle of the sidewalk, laughing hysterically. Several people walking by stopped to watch the spectacle. A few onlookers chuckled nearby at a café after hearing the argument and seeing the whole thing happen.

Finally, Harry and Ron stopped laughing and picked themselves off the ground. They walked the rest of the way in companionable silence, every once in a while chortling to themselves.

As they neared the shop they saw a sign outside the building that read, **Closed due to bereavement and family issues. Will open again soon.** It was hanging on the door which was locked. They tried to spell it open but nothing worked. Harry finally broke the glass silently and reached through to unlock it and push the chair away from the door. When the door was open again he repaired the glass with a Reparo and they walked through the store to the staircase.

They could smell a bad smells coming from a shelf that had Puking Pastilles on it, and an area that once contained Pygmy Puffs. Neither wanted to investigate, so they continued onward. They got to the stairs and looked up the dark staircase and then back at each other.

"I have a feeling this is going to be a lot more work than I thought," Harry muttered. "Make sure you put up a Shield when we get up there. We don't know what he's doing, but we know he's not expecting guests. Let's go," he said quietly. They took out their wands and held them in front of them. They reached the top and listened at the door for any sounds. Nothing was coming from inside so they knocked. They waited for several long minutes and nothing was heard moving inside so Harry unlocked the door and opened it wide. They looked around the room and saw utter chaos.

Books were thrown around the room, pages ripped out, covers torn off. Pillows were slashed open and feathers covered everything. A few bookshelves were skewed and had books piled underneath them. A large hole in the wall had a dented garbage can underneath it and had garbage falling out of the wall. Wrappers spilled out of the hole and covered table tops and chairs. Old food was squished into the carpet and making horrible smells emanate throughout the room. A large painting of George and Fred was hanging helter-skelter on the wall, it had a gaping hole over George's ear and a long cut across Fred's neck. Glass dishware was shattered everywhere.

"Bloody hell," Ron said thickly. The only thing in the room not touched was a broomstick hanging on the wall. Under it was a small plaque that said Fred's Broom Do Not Touch! A similar plaque was nearby saying the same thing but with George's name instead. The broom was no where to be seen.

Harry wandered into the room sidestepping a pile of glass and broken items. He wandered up the hallway with Ron following him. The destruction continued but turned into smaller things like, ripped clothing, smaller fist sized holes in the walls, hanging pictures, and stained carpet. Harry looked in the bathroom first as he past it, and saw a few dirty towels, and puddles of water on the floor. The tub was filled with dank, dirty water, and several towels had a mysterious stains that looked like blood on them. The toilet hadn't been flushed in days and had flies hovering around it. The smell was almost unbearable so Harry shut the door. They continued on to the last two doors. One with a large G the other with a large F on them. Both rooms were closed, so Harry looked to Ron, who shrugged. Harry turned and pushed open the G door. Inside, the room looked horrible. It resembled the living room, but on a smaller more personal scale. Photo albums had been thrown at walls, pictures were scattered everywhere. Books were torn and strewn also. One thing was obvious, George was not in his room. Harry backed out and closed the door.

He turned and placed his hand on the F door. Ron took a deep breath, and closed his eyes as Harry opened the door. Harry gasped and started walking in. Ron heard Harry's surprise and opened his eyes. The sight before him made him gasp as well.

George was laying across the bed horizontally to the bed's vertical position. His head and one arm dangled off one side, while his feet were on the ground of the other side. A puddle of vomit was under his head, trailing down the side of the bed and to the floor. His hands were swollen and bloody, his knuckles all torn up and scabbed over. He had tufts of hair pulled out and he smelled even worse than the bathroom. He wasn't wearing a shirt, and the pajama pants he wore were stained and had blood swiped across parts as if he wiped his hands on them while they were bleeding. There were holes all over the pants and tears that looked fresh.

Several hard liquor bottles lay around the room, one was emptied on the bed next to him as if he passed out and let go of the bottle, letting it fall and spill on himself. His hand was loosely grasping the empty bottle.

Ron moaned and stepped closer, praying for a miracle. Harry was already next to George feeling for a pulse.

"He's alive." Ron and Harry shared a sigh of relief. Harry was crouched near George's head and Ron was at his feet. The two of them grabbed hold of the drunk man, and turned him so he was laying on his side with his head near the pillows. They removed the bottle from his hand and did several cleaning charms on him and the bed before covering him up.

Before they left the room, Ron grabbed as many bottles as he could find and Harry did a scouring charm on the carpet and bed to remove the vomit. They exited the room and walked to the living room. Ron dropped all the bottles on the floor and sat on the couch, placing his head in his hands. Harry followed suit, clearing off a place before sitting on the other cushion. For five minutes they sat in silence. Finally, Ron broke the peace by standing up, taking one of the empty bottles and chucking it at the wall. They watched it shatter before Ron sat back down heavily.

"He's going to be okay, right Harry?" he asked in a small voice. Harry took a deep breath and exhaled.

"Eventually, if we can be strong, and push him. It will be hard, he'll say things that he doesn't actually mean and wouldn't normally say to us, and it will hurt all the more that he says them. It will be a long hard fight, but yes, I think he'll be okay, Ron," Harry sighed. He stood up.

"Why don't we clean up a bit. This place is a complete mess. It will give us something to do, and maybe it'll cheer him up a bit when he sees it." Ron groaned.

"More bloody cleaning," he moaned as he stood up. "Where should we start?" They agreed on splitting up with Harry in the kitchen and Ron in the living room. They planned that who ever finished first would go on to the hallway, and the other would go to George's room. In the end, they flipped a coin to decide who got the bathroom, and Harry lost.

They got to work repairing anything they came across, and using excess amounts of scouring charms, and vanishing charms to just make the mess disappear if it were beyond repair and it was junk. They made sure to place any picture in a pile and save them for new photo albums.

Ron decided to fix the painting of the twins and spent several long minutes meticulously spelling it clean and repairing it carefully so that no seam showed around Fred's neck and George's ear. When he was done he stored it in a closet for safekeeping. For two hours they cleaned and renovated the flat, fixed random items that needed to be fixed and scoured the place till it shone. Soon, the only two rooms left were the bathroom, and Fred's room.

"Come on Harry, you lost the coin toss. The bathroom is your job, so get to it while I work on these books," Ron said as he picked up a mid-sized leather-bound tome.

"What are you going to be doing with them, we've fixed all we can. And may I remind you of what that toilet looked like, I'll need a muggle gas mask and bio-haz-mat suit to even open the door. Maybe we should leave it for George to clean, how that man made such a god-awful mess of one room like that is beyond me," Harry said as he wandered near Fred's door. He peeked in and saw that George had once again thrown up over the side of the bed. He wandered in quietly and cleaned his friend up, before wandering back out to the living room.

"He doing okay?" Harry shook his head and mimicked throwing up to which Ron shock his head. "You asked what I was going to do with the books? I'm looking for a Sobering charm or potion we can make before he wakes up. Remember dad? He made one for us before, but I don't want to ask him for the recipe, because he'd know why I needed it, and I don't think George needs a father-lecture right now." Harry looked at Ron in a new light. He'd do the equivalent to school work for his brother just so he wouldn't get in trouble. The act of brotherhood was astounding to him sometimes.

"I guess I'll get started on the bathroom. How does that Bubble head charm go again?" Harry wandered away a few minutes later looking like a cartoon, while Ron sat there chuckling to himself.

Ron was reading a spell about getting rid of morning breath when he heard a yelp from the bathroom. He jumped up and ran, placing the bubble-head charm on himself just in case. When he arrived he saw Harry, bubble around his head, sweat dripping down his face, sticking a plunger in the toilet and rapidly shoving it up and down, brackish water spilling onto the floor at an alarming pace. Ron began laughing.

"Don't just stand there you idiot, help me!" Harry shouted. Ron pulled out his wand and began vanishing the water. His laughter caused him to mess the spell up a few times and caused the water to turn into a gelatinous, brown goober covering the entire floor. Ron began laughing so hard he couldn't speak. Harry was yelling at him, and cursing loudly, interspersed with his own laughter. He raised a foot as to better place it for more leverage and began a weird dance as if he were slipping around on ice. After a moment he was able to still himself without spilling over into the slippery goop.

Harry was getting frustrated, what with the overflowing toilet, giant brown pile of goo on the floor, and his howling friend his anger began to boil over like the toilet in front of him. Ron was bent double trying hard to breath again, thankful for the bubble around his head supplying fresh, good smelling air. He took a deep breath, and was smacked upside the head with something wet and rubbery. He looked at the floor and saw a dirty plunger. Harry was suddenly laughing very hard.

"That is so bloody, effing disgusting, Harry!" Ron squealed. He began sending cleaning spells at his head to get off all of the refuse. Harry, chortling to himself, vanished the goober on the floor and the water in the toilet, since he no longer had control of the plunger.

Since the toilet was taken care of, Ron wandered back to the living room to resume his study for a Sobering charm, muttering to himself the whole way.

Harry finished the bathroom at the same time Ron 'found' a spell, though Harry suspected that he found it earlier, but didn't want to help out with the bathroom from hell he was now calling it. They decided to wake up George before administering the charm and walked back to the bedroom.

Harry stood behind Ron while Ron walked up to his brother. He placed his hand on his shoulder and began to shake George, softly at first then more violently.

"George. George, wake up! George," Ron called slowly getting louder. George snorted and snored and rolled over. Harry tried to cover his giggle, but Ron turned and glared.

"What is funny about this? He too pissed to even wake up, help me out here," Ron said as he turned back to George. Harry went around to the other side of the bed and they both began shaking George and yelling his name. George groaned and tried to cover his head with his arms but they held fast and wouldn't let him.

"Wha-th-bloody-ell? Whaddya wan?" George mumbled with his cotton tongue. He tried to open his blood shot eyes, but it was too bright so he groaned and went to cover them.

"Come on George, we need you awake. You need to see what we did for you," Ron said as he struggled to pull George's dead weight to the edge of the bed and make him sit up.

"What? Ron? Harry? What are you two doing here?" George asked thickly, still not helping them in the least to make him sit up.

"We came by to see you, mate. And found your flat a mess and you passed out drunk. We thought you were dead at first. I need you sober for this, Sobrius." Harry spoke the sobering charm and George groaned loudly as he grabbed his head. He abruptly leaned forward and vomited on the floor between his feet. He placed his head between his knees and moaned. Harry cleaned the floor with a wave of his wand.

"George we really need to talk with you about—" George interrupted Harry.

"Just go away! You already did enough with that bloody damn spell, I'm not in the mood to _talk_ right now. Just go home," George said with his head between his knees still. Ron's mouth fell open and his eyes widened.

"No. We're not leaving George, until I've had my say. You can either come out to the living room or we'll—"

"Or you'll what? Tell my mummy on me? Go ahead, it's not like she can do anything to stop me. I'd like to see you try to stop me from doing what I want," George said angrily he stood up and swayed, Ron caught his arm to balance him. Instead of thanking his brother, George wrenched his arm out of Ron's grasp and stumbled towards the bathroom.

Harry and Ron shared a glance that said, this is going to be harder than we thought. They stood up and followed George into the hall. He slammed the door of the bathroom in their faces so they waited. And waited. And waited. Finally, after waiting ten minutes they knocked and heard George yell, "Go Away!"

They glanced at each other before Ron grabbed the door handle and turned. It was locked so he muttered Alohomora, and turned the knob. They saw the lid to the toilet tank on the counter, and George sitting on the floor, a half-empty bottle of Firewhiskey to his lips. His eyes were already glazed over and his cheeks were red. Ron growled and marched forward. He grabbed the bottle and pulled it away, sloshing it all the way down his brothers front.

"Hey! What the bloody hell, I was drinking that!" George yelled. He attempted to get up off the floor but fell against the tub and hit his head. He lay there groaning while Ron dumped the whiskey down the sink drain.

"I can't believe you George! How could you let yourself go like this? What would Fred say?" Ron bellowed. George sat up rapidly and Harry saw a furious look on his face.

"Don't you dare say that name! That name is forbidden! Never say it again!" George screamed with a manic glint to his eyes. Harry blanched.

"Fred, Fred, Fred, Fred, Fred! FRED!" Ron screamed the last name so loudly Harry thought his ear drums might bleed. George lay back down on the ground and covered his ears and yelled incomprehensible words to drown out Ron's screaming. Harry put a hand on Ron's arm when he was finished.

Ron was breathing heavily, his eyes clouded over from the pain of what they had to do. He started shaking his head. Harry pulled him into the hallway and shut the bathroom door.

"I don't think I can do this Harry. Look at him, he's broken, what can two teenagers do for him? I don't think…I can't do this, hurt him like this," Ron muttered, angrily wiping tears away. Harry put a hand on his shoulder.

"Ron, we have too. Your mum, she wouldn't be able to handle this, your dad would take a different approach that might not work. George is kinda like me, he needs this more than you understand. You've done this for me in the past, woken me up to the mistakes I was making by pushing people away. We have to be strong, for George and for Fred. You heard what he said in that corridor, it's not George's time. George needs us, but he'll push us away. We can't let him do that right now. Okay?" Ron took a shaky breath but nodded firmly. Harry opened the door to find George laying on the ground next to the tub staring at the ceiling with his mouth hanging open slightly. Harry shook his head and steeled himself.

"Come on George, get yourself up, come on," Harry said as he and Ron each took an arm and heaved the drunken red-head to his feet. George was cognitive enough that when he was upright he tried to wrench his arms from the boys but when he broke free of the startled Harry and Ron, he started to fall forward. Harry whipped his wand out and thought _Levicorpus_ and George's feet spun and rose into the air before his body could hit the ground. George promptly vomited on their feet and passed out.

"Ew, Harry did you have to do that?" Ron asked with a disgusted look on his face at he vanished the pile of sick off of the their feet.

"It was the first thing I could think of, come on, let's float him out to the sofa before we wake him up." Ron pushed George's floating body while Harry maintained the spell keeping him in the air. He canceled it out when George was above the couch and his body landed softly in a heap on the newly cleaned and repaired couch. Ron sat him upright and Harry woke him up and did the sobering charm once more, this time he held a bucket in front of George's face so he could puke into that. Once that was cleaned up and George was opening his mouth to yell again, Harry froze him in a body bind.

"I don't care what you think or if you could care less by what I have to say, but I am not going to deal with that bathroom ordeal again. I came here to tell you something, and damnit you are going to listen. George, I own half the shares to this shop, and I am going to make sure it doesn't go under. I am protecting my interests in this shop by hiring several workers to keep it up and running while you deal with your grief." Harry removed the body bind and waited for the tirade to begin, and he didn't have to wait long.

"You think you can just come in here and take over our shop? Well, your wrong! It's mine and if I don't feel like running it right now, than you have NO say in what I do or don't do! I don't care if you own half the shares, that's is easily remedied, I will be taking back Fred's half of the shares and I will own them. In fact, I don't want you to even be _part_ owner anymore, we've paid you back plenty of what you gave us, and we don't owe you anything anymore.

"You think you can just walk right in here and run this shop yourself? Well, as much as I would enjoy seeing you FAIL, I care about this shop enough to not want to see it get run into the ground by some half-pint, wanna-be hero with a bloody scar on his head wanting more fame than he deserves! Get the hell out of my house and don't bother coming back!" George finished yelling at Harry and went to get up but found himself frozen again. He rolled his eyes and turned red, his anger showing through the bind's magic.

"Actually, George, I found the paperwork while we cleaned this flat for you. Didn't you notice? This place is spotless, and you didn't even thank us. The paperwork that both you and Fred signed was tucked away in a folder on a bookshelf. You both signed and dated it, so that means its official. The only way you can get back Fred's shares, is to buy them from me, and guess what. I'm not selling.

"You, George Weasley, are stuck with me. Legally, I can do anything I want to this shop if you are threatening its well being. I can hire, fire, and do anything I want if you wont do it. So you can either get off you arse and do it yourself, or I will." Harry lifted the spell so George could get a word in his defense.

"I can't believe you Harry! You used to be cool and what? Now you're Mr. Responsible? What happened to you?" George spat.

"Nothing happened to me, George. Maybe I grew up a bit over the last year, but nothing really has changed with me. It's you who's changed. Getting pissed before noon everyday? Trashing your flat? Leaving yours and Fred's business to run into the ground? Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was yours and Fred's dream! You left school early so you could open up the shop! It's not me that's changed, its you. And you are a pitiful site. Why do you think it was me and Ron that came today and not your mum? Because she doesn't know Percy stopped checking in on you. She thinks the shop is almost ready to open again because you've been working _so hard_ the last week! She would be horrified to find this place the way we did! I had to check you for a bloody pulse, damnit! We thought you were dead!"

"I wish I was! You said it was mine and Fred's dream to start this shop? Fred AND mine! And! There is no Weasley's Wizard Wheezes without two Weasley's! It was always Fred and George this, Fred and George that, this was _both_ our dreams. How am I supposed to keep it going when half the dream is missing? Now, it's just a burden on me! So go ahead, Harry, take it all, all my shares and the rest of Fred's too, take it all! I don't care anymore! I'm lucky if I care enough to get out of bed in the morning to take a shite, let alone to care about a bloody shop! I JUST DON'T CARE!" George screamed.

"You don't care? I don't believe that, George Weasley. I think you care a lot more than you let on. In the last five minutes, you've talked about Fred in the present tense a couple times, 'We've paid you back; we don't owe you anything.' FRED is DEAD! He is NEVER coming back! Get this in your head because the way your face is crumbling and your eyes are watering, I can see that you do care. More than you want anyone to know." Harry sat next to George and Ron sat on the other side. Harry continued in a more subdued voice.

"I've been where you are George. I know what it feels like to lose someone you love. Someone you thought would be there forever. There's a hole in your heart where they were, the closer they were the larger the hole. It never fully gets filled again, but you have to understand, _have to_, it does get better! You have to _want_ it to get better! Getting pissed for days in a row, trashing your flat, cutting up Fred's pictures are spur of the moment things you do in a fit of drunken rage to anger the person your mad at, but if that person is gone forever, in the end you only hurt yourself.

"Don't be afraid to ask for help, because when we see you falling into a hole that you might not be able to get out of, we have to say hurtful things to you to make you see that we care. Please, stop drinking, take a shower, get dressed and come to dinner tonight at Grimmauld Place. Hermione's parents are there, your parents will be there, Bill and Fleur will be there, we're having a little party before we have to leave for America in a couple days. Okay?" George sniffed and nodded, staring at his hands. Ron looked to Harry and nodded.

"I've gotten rid of all the whiskey. All I could find that is, I missed the one in the toilet. Harry, you were going to meet Ginny, why don't I stay here with George while he gets ready. I'll come with him for dinner," Ron stood and helped George to his feet. Harry stood also.

"You sure, mate?" he asked Ron, who nodded and helped George to his bedroom. Harry walked down the stairs and out the front door, locking it behind him. He wandered up the alley planning his next trip to knock some sense into someone.

His idea was to get Ginny and apparate to Denis's house. Talk to him, yell if necessary, and finally visit Colin's grave. He reached an Apparition point and popped back to his house.

"Ginny?" he called out. He heard feet running down a hallway upstairs and down a flight of stairs. Ginny came into sight and hugged him tightly before a slower, calmer Hermione came into sight.

"Where's Ron? And how's George doing?" Ginny asked hurriedly and in a whisper.

"Ron is with George still, I didn't want to miss our meeting with Denis. I can tell you more later tonight, alright? We have to get going. George and Ron will be coming later for dinner, Hermione, do you want to come with us?" Hermione shook her head.

"No, I'll stay here. I want to talk more with my parents. I'll let Mrs. Weasley know about George coming for dinner. Do you know when you'll be back? You wont have much time, it's already a quarter to five." Harry looked at his watch, surprised it took so long at the flat.

"We'll be back by six, half past at the latest. Alright? Tell Mrs. Weasley that if we're running late to start without us. We'll be fine with leftovers. Did anyone respond to our letters?" Harry replied.

"Yes, Katie and Angelina both can't make it tonight, but they both said tomorrow morning would be better. I sent back a reply saying that would be okay, meet us at the Leaky Cauldron. I figured we can bring them here to talk to them since no one will be at the Burrow to meet them, and we know them well enough that they won't tell anyone about the location of the house," said Hermione.

"Well, neither would the others. Verity is the only one I really don't know very well, but the others are all okay. We can tell them the location of my house tonight. If anyone else responds tell them about tomorrow. We've really got to get going. Bye," Harry pulled Ginny out the front door and they popped out of sight.

They reappeared next to a small house. Harry looked around for anyone who might have seen them arrive out of thin air and saw no one. They stood up from their crouches and walked to the front door and knocked. A woman answered the door.

"Hello?" she looked at them quizzically.

"Er, hello, I don't know if you remember us, we were friend's of Colin's. We came to see Denis if that's okay?" Harry said quickly. Ginny looked at him and smiled.

"We are Harry and Ginny," she added.

"Ah, right, I remember you from the funeral. Come in. I'm sorry to tell you but Denis went out for a walk about an hour ago. He's been doing this a lot lately and he tends to not come back for several hours. I think he goes to his brother's gravesite," she added sadly. They walked into the living room and saw Denis's dad sitting watching the television; a beer in one hand, a remote in the other. He was flipping through the channels too fast to see anything.

"Dear, a couple of Colin's friends from school are here. Say hello," she said to the man as she left the room quickly. He turned and they saw deep pouches under his red eyes. He attempted a smile, but it turned out more like a grimace.

"Hello, there, how are you two?" he asked softly.

"We're doing alright, I guess. Are you okay?" Ginny said hesitantly.

"Well, I'm doing better than I was a week or so ago. I'm working through some things, but otherwise, I'm doing okay. Better than Denis at least," he sighed. His wife walked back into the room carrying a tray of lemonade and biscuits. She set it on a tray near the couch and handed each of them a cup and a napkin with a cookie on it.

The four of them sat and talked for several minutes about small things like the weather, and Australia. Finally, Harry asked a question he had to work up the courage to ask.

"May I possibly see some of Colin's photo's? I remember him having many hanging on the wall in his room when we got here for the funeral, and I wanted to see if he had a particular one," he said. Crystina looked at Harvey and back at Harry before she nodded.

A few minutes later he was in Colin's room looking at his wall of photographs with Ginny. She knew what to look for but not why. Crystina was standing in the doorway watching. After Harry had explained that he didn't have any pictures of just him and Colin, she had been eager to let him find one to keep. Finally, after searching for fifteen minutes and through box after box and book after book, he found one. Colin had asked him for Defense help for his homework. Harry was standing next to him, showing him how to hold his wand the right way for a Patronus charm. Harry showed him the wand movement and the right pronunciation and Colin shot off the spell like a pro. A giant Border collie Corporal Patronus shot out of this wand and cantered around the room. Harry remembered people cheering for Colin and the smile on his face was the biggest Harry had ever seen on him.

He held up the picture and Ginny saw it, and smiled.

"I remember taking that. Colin was so happy to see someone had gotten that moment on film," she said sadly.

"May I ask what spell that was?" Crystina asked quietly. Harry looked up.

"A Patronus charm. It repels Dementors, which are dark creatures. This was the first time Colin had been able to make one Corporal like this. His animal was a Border collie. It fit him, because he was always so hyper, yet fiercely loyal. This was right before Dumbledore died and school closed after my sixth year, Ginny and Colin's fifth. May I keep this?" Harry asked. Crystina nodded and smiled.

Harry and Ginny thanked Denis's parents for the picture and lemonade as they walked out the front door. They wandered down the street towards the cemetery looking for Denis. While they walked Harry conjured a frame to put the picture in so it wouldn't get wrinkled. They meandered their way up the path into the cemetery and up the hill to where Colin was buried. As they got near they saw a crouched figure sitting near-by.

"Denis? Is that you?" Ginny called out. The figure moved and turned.

"Ginny? Is that you?" he called back. Ginny sped up and Harry followed her at a trot. They arrived at the grave and saw Denis sitting on a jacket spread out on the ground, leaning against the side of the stone. They could read Colin Wilson Creevey Born November 11th, 1981 Died May 2nd, 1998 Beloved Son and Brother, Talented Photographer, We will miss you.

Ginny began tearing up after reading the stone that hadn't been there the last time they had visited.

"What are you two doing here? Just visiting? Or did you come looking for me?" Denis asked in a monotone voice.

"Both. I actually came to put something here, something I should have done for Colin a long time ago." Harry sighed as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the photograph. He pulled the photo out of the frame and pulled a quill out of his other pocket. He scribbled something on the picture and replaced it into the frame. He said a few spells on the frame and finally stuck it on the marble in front of the stone. Denis watched him do this with a blank look on his face. Ginny held onto Harry's arm silently crying. "I made it so that the rain wont ruin it, and it can't be seen by Muggles. It's also got a semi-permanent sticking charm on it so the wind can't tip it over. I asked your mum, and she said it was okay. I also wanted to talk to you," Harry began. Denis stood up and picked up the jacket and put it on. He began walking away from them without saying anything.

"Denis, wait. We just want to talk for a few minutes. Please?" Ginny called after him. Denis turned around and waved his arms out.

"Why? What could you possibly have to say to me? You don't know what I'm going through, so you can't say that, you wouldn't dare say that I should move on, because that would just be insensitive. What could you possibly say to me? He died bravely, and wouldn't want you to mope? Well, guess what? I don't care what he would've wanted right now, I don't feel like listening to what a bunch of so called friends have to say. So bugger off, and leave me alone!" Denis shouted at them as he wandered backwards towards the gate. Harry sighed.

"Ginny whatever you do, don't stop me, alright? Don't say anything to contradict me, or make him think that you don't agree with me. You won't like this, but trust me, it will help," Harry muttered. As soon as Ginny nodded, he shot a spell at Denis's back. Ginny gasped as they watched Denis fell forward and hit the ground.

"Harry!" Ginny started but Harry looked at her with raised eyebrows and she shut up.

"I had to do something like this to George earlier, please, don't stop me or say anything," he muttered. She looked from Harry to Denis and back to Harry before she nodded once more. They walked over to Denis and picked him up. They brought him back to Colin's gravestone and propped him up. Harry whispered a few spells to make sure no one would see or hear them and then turned to Denis.

He saw that Denis's eyes were wide and surprised.

"Okay, Denis. I hate doing this, but it seems that stubborn people need the tough love today. I'm sorry your brother died, it's a real tragedy, and no I'm not being melodramatic. Colin was a great person. He was an awesome friend and a better brother. As much as I still blame myself for every death that happened that day, I know that everyone who died, including your brother, would NOT want us to waste our life now that we have our freedom and peace weeping and wallowing in depression because we lost them. I'm going to let you free and I really want you to stay and talk to us. Okay?" Harry asked as he lifted the spell. Denis, finding himself free and able to move, stepped forward towards Harry and reached his arm back and punched Harry in the face. Harry reeled back from the hit and Ginny ran for Harry as she yelled, "Denis!"

Ginny grabbed Harry's arm and led him to a bench nearby where she looked at his nose and declared it broken. Harry looked up and saw Denis walking away so he stood up and ran toward the younger boy.

"Dedis! Dedis, wait! I still wad da talk to you! Please, Dedis stop!" Harry was yelling through the bleeding of his nose. Ginny ran after him and they caught up to the short boy.

"Dedis, I dow you did't bead to do that. I'b dot go-ig to say adythig about it. Just, please stop ruddig frub us." Harry was pleading with Denis as they walked. Denis stared forward with a stony look on his face. Harry kept talking and trying to get the other boy to stop walking. Ginny decided to try a different tactic.

"Never mind Harry. Denis obviously doesn't want to know about Colin coming to you in a dream. Obviously he's hurting too much to care that other people care about him, and want to help. Why don't we just go home, mum can fix you nose and we can have dinner." Harry stopped walking and looked at her weird. She winked and he caught on once he noticed that Denis had stopped walking also. He looked at Denis and shrugged.

"Dedis, you dow where you cad fide be. If you wad to talk, let be dow ad I'll cobe over adytibe. Okay?" Harry said quietly as he turned to walk away.

"Wait," Denis said calmly. He turned to look at Harry and Ginny. "Colin came to you too?" was all he said to get them to drop their jaws.

"Yes," was the only thing Harry said. Denis looked at his feet before asking when.

"Couple dights ago," Harry responded. Denis took a deep breath.

"Everywhere I go, I think I see him. Out of the corner of my eyes, I'll turn and it'll just be some one with blonde hair, or some fool waving a camera about. The other day I went to the market in town and saw someone with blonde hair walking ahead of me, and I followed them for three blocks before they turned and stared at me. I didn't even realize that it was a little girl until she turned around. I just feel so…I know I was at the funeral, but at the same time, I keep expecting him to shove a camera in my face and take a picture of me or walk through the front door and I don't know why.

"If I go five minutes without thinking about him, I feel guilty. I don't want to forget him, but I don't know how I can go on with my life unless I do and this makes me feel even guiltier. Then, I get angry, because why do I have to feel guilty? He shouldn't even have been at the school! We were in hiding! If it weren't for that blasted coin, he wouldn't have run off that night and he'd still be alive!

"It's just not fair! And now I get to listen to a bunch of wankers coming in to tell me what he would've wanted? I don't care what you think Potter! You can kiss my arse, because I'm not going to sit here and have you tell me some croc about how Colin came to you in a dream and told you to act the saint and help me out of my grief! It's mine and I don't plan on giving it up anytime soon! My only brother died, and I have the right to spend as much time as I want grieving, and no one, not even the _Hero_ of the wizarding world is going to tell me how to feel! Now leave me alone, or I'm calling the cops!" Denis shouted as he spun around and ran down the lane towards his house. Harry and Ginny stood there in shock. It had been the most they had ever heard Denis say in one moment ever.

Harry sighed and rubbed his nose which he instantly regretted.

"Ow," he said weakly. Ginny patted his arm and they walked away from the cemetery.

"Come on, let's go home."

* * *

A/N: Well, they finally got the login problem fixed. Okay, so I am not liking the next chapter, it's kind of dull, but I feel like it's long enough so I'm posting this chapter now. Tell me what you think of it! Please! Do you like the goblin subplot? How about how I had them handle George? Was it too forceful? Should I drag it out? Idea's people…what do you want to see? I have my general outline for what's going to happen for this story, but minor things like do I drag out George's moods is something I want to know if you like. How did you like Denis? Was he too OOC? Or does it seem reasonable for him to act this way? Please review!

Author suggestion: I think everyone should go read a short story called Miss Hogwarts. Harry in drag competing in a Miss Hogwarts pageant…it was so funny! Words cannot describe how many times I snorted liquid out my nose during this story. And its H/G! the story ID is 1106424. Go read it!


	22. Of Elves and Owls

Disclaimer: I don't own…yadda yadda…not…mine…belongs to JKR…

* * *

**Of Elves and Owls  
**

Neither Ginny nor Harry could fix a broken nose, so they returned to Grimmauld Place quickly. When Mrs. Weasley saw Harry's bloody face, she screamed and pulled him into the kitchen before anyone could question him, leaving Ginny to answer everyone's questions.

Mrs. Weasley fixed up Harry and cleaned him off. Once she was done, she allowed everyone to enter the kitchen for dinner. Ron and Ginny teased Harry about letting a runt like Denis get the better of him and breaking his nose.

"It's not like I lost a fight, he surprised me. Ginny, you saw him, he has a great right hook," Harry said moping. This made almost everyone laugh.

"Poor Harry. The savior of the world, taken down a peg by a four foot tall, seven stone runt!" Bill roared, slapping his knee. Percy smiled and chuckled lightly. Ron and Hermione sat by watching Harry get grumpier and Ginny lean over and whisper something in his ear. He perked up and smiled a bit, letting the jests roll of his shoulders after Ginny's whisper.

"Now, boys leave Harry alone. He was only trying to help the poor boy. I just feel so bad for that little Denis. I think I'll send some of my baking to his mother in a condolence package." Mrs. Weasley spoke to Mr. Weasley and the Grangers for a while as everyone finished their food.

With a wave of her wand, Mrs. Weasley had desert on the table and the dinner dishes cleaned away.

"My goodness, I wish I could clean the table like that." Harry heard Mrs. Granger whisper to her husband. Hermione also heard and giggled. Harry sat and watched his loved ones eat and be happy, or generally happy. George was still as quiet as ever, seated between Percy and Bill. As far away from Harry and Ron as he could get. Harry watched the girls giggle, the parents swap baby stories, and Ron tell Bill about the roller coasters at Luna Park.

Harry finally felt content. Like he finally had what he always wanted. A family that loved each other and enjoyed each others company. He sighed and smiled. Ginny heard him and glanced over at him. She saw his faint smile as he looked around and she knew what he was thinking. She leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek, which made him smile wider than before.

At exactly eight o'clock Bill and Fleur shared a glance and stood up.

"Ahem," Bill cleared his throat. Percy, and his parents all smiled. They knew what was coming. "Fleur and I would like to let you four in on a secret. We only told mum and dad less than a week ago but, Fleur's pregnant. We're going to have a baby," he finished with a huge silly grin. At the end of his announcement Ginny and Hermione squealed loudly and jumped up and ran to hug the happy couple. Ron sat in stunned silence for a moment and Harry watched his friend come out of his shock.

"A baby? Really? Your going to be a…dad?" Ron squeaked out the last word which made everyone laugh.

"Yep. I still can't believe it myself. The baby will be born in late December, early January," Bill said to Ron and Hermione. Ginny had run and hugged Fleur.

"How are you feeling? Any morning sickness yet?" questions bubbled forth. Fleur giggled and nodded.

"I've been feeling fine, a little bit of sickness in the early morning but it passes by about nine am. Then I'm ravenous," Fleur replied. The family spent a half an hour talking of the baby and little things like names and boy versus girl. At half past eight Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all left for the Burrow while Mr. and Mrs. Weasley stayed to have a nightcap with the Grangers. Bill and Fleur left for Shell Cottage, Percy went home to his flat, and George left for his.

When the teens arrived at the Burrow they saw that they were first to arrive so they sat outside in the garden until they heard voices from inside the house. They wandered in to find Lee Jordan, Alicia Spinnet, and Verity Venoux staring around the silent home in confusion.

"Hello," Harry said. The three jumped and whipped out their wands. Seeing the Weasley's and Harry and Hermione, they lowered their wands.

"Harry! What's going on? Where is everyone?" asked Alicia.

"They're at my house. Come on we're heading there for now by Floo, I decided to come and tell you the location since the secret keeper died. The way I understand the Fidelius Charm is everyone who had the secret is now able to tell the location. So I'm going to ask that the three of you not tell anyone the location unless it's an emergency, okay?" Harry watched their faces as he spoke. Lee nodded immediately, as did Alicia. Verity however looked around the house she was in before finally nodding.

"I'm sorry Harry, it's just hard for me to forget the war is over. I don't have to worry any more about being caught and tortured for information anymore. Don't worry, I'll keep your secret," replied Verity with a smile. Harry smiled at her and nodded. He took out a few scraps of paper and handed them to each person. They read them and looked confused for a moment before the papers burst into flame and crumbled to dust.

"That was the location, you can Floo there now. I'll meet you there and then we can talk." Harry waved them through the Floo and followed quickly. He arrived and hurried the guests to the upstairs Drawing room. The seven people sat around the large room while Harry explained his dream to Lee, Alicia, and Verity. The guests and Ginny and Hermione all gasped and teared up when Harry and Ron explained how the found George that afternoon. Ginny was ready to go to Percy's and flay him alive but Harry put a stop to her, explaining that even Percy couldn't have known that George would sink that low in a matter of a few days.

He then asked them if they wouldn't mind working at the shop for a while and help get it ready.

"Verity, I'm asking you since you're the only person I know who worked there once already. Do you know much about how to do things, run the place?" asked Harry.

"Do I know much?" scoffed Verity. "I practically ran the place before. They spent almost all their time inventing new things. They only surfaced when they needed new ideas, or medical attention. If George is really as bad as you say, I don't mind returning for a while to help out. I can't stay for a long time, a few months at most because my uncle needs help re-opening his shop also."

"I think we can work with that. You can train someone else to run it, that should only take a few weeks, then you can return to your uncle's shop once someone else is able to read the books well enough to keep the business afloat," Hermione replied.

"Fred and George were my best mates. I still can't believe Fred is gone, but I will help George as much as possible. Count me in, Harry," said Lee vehemently. Alicia nodded.

"We can't let out other beater down, our teammate needs us!" Alicia said with a sad smile. "Have you asked Angelina and Katie? I'm sure Oliver might be able to help out on the weekends now that Quidditch season has resumed."

"I hadn't thought about Oliver, but Katie and Angelina I'm meeting tomorrow morning. I'll send him a letter tomorrow telling him what happened and why I might need him," Harry said as he turned to Verity. "Verity, could you meet me at the shop at about ten? It's in a bad way and I'll need your help to show me what to do. The four of us are traveling to America in only a couple days so I will need you guys ready to start as soon as possible. Verity will be in charge and you'll probably be teaching someone else to run the shop. It'll be better if there are two people who know how to run the shop, just in case. Is that alright Verity?" Verity nodded and Harry continued.

"You guys really don't mind doing this for me? George is putting up a right stink about me taking over for now," said Harry quietly.

"Well, I was kind of wondering why you're taking over for him. If he doesn't want you too, can't he just say no?" asked Lee.

"Well, technically no, he can't just say no. See, I'm the one that gave the twins the money to start up, so in return they made me a third partner. They signed an agreement without my knowledge that if one of them passed on, the remaining twin would split the leftover third of shares with me. Making me an equal partner. If they both died, I'd be full owner. So, for all intensive purposes I own half the shop. I told George that I was doing this for my own interests, and not his. But it's not true. I just think that eventually he'll realize his mistake of letting the shop go and regret it, so I'm not letting that happen." The three guests smiled at Harry.

"So, Harry, where'd you get this house? It's kinda…Slytherin, isn't it?" Lee asked with a smirk.

"I inherited it from my godfather, Sirius Black," Harry said with a grin. Lee, Alicia and Verity all gasped.

"The Sirius Black? The only prisoner to escape Azkaban? He was your godfather?" Verity said with a whisper.

"Well, yes, he was my godfather and the only person to escape, but the thing is, he wasn't guilty." Harry told them the story, shared with Hermione, about Sirius's escape and betrayal and about Peter Pettigrew. At ten pm Lee, Alicia, and Verity all left 12 Grimmauld Place and the four teens went to bed.

* * *

The next morning Harry woke early and went to the kitchen. He saw the pouch he'd left for Bill to get money for him on the table. A note with it explained that the portrait was somewhere in the house. Bill had hidden it in retribution for his sass the day before. _Enjoy looking for it Potter. I hid it well,_ the note said. Harry chuckled while he pocketed it and started a kettle of water for tea. It was so early not even Mrs. Weasley was up yet.

Once his tea was ready, he sat at the table in Sirius's old place and began writing a long to do list for the day. He only had a day to finish everything before they left for America.

**To Do:**  
Find portrait of Remus and Tonks; continue at night if needed/possible.  
Meet Verity at shop at ten.  
Borrow Hermes to owl Oliver.  
Visit Teddy and Andromeda.  
Visit Denis again.  
Owl Bill and tell him if Verity contacts him to get her gold from vault for supplies.  
Think about getting a new Owl.

Harry set his cup down and stood up. He wandered over to Kreacher's cupboard and knocked. He heard a grumble and then a gasp. The door was wrenched open by a sleepy elf.

"My apologies, Master Harry! Kreacher has been alone for so long he's forgotten to wake up when Master does or when he hears people moving!" Kreacher knelt at Harry's feet and cringed waiting.

"Er, Kreacher, what are you doing?" asked Harry perplexed.

"Kreacher is waiting dutifully for his punishment, Master Harry," replied the elf. Harry sighed.

"Kreacher, stand up please." The elf jumped to his feet and stood with his eyes closed and his shoulders hunched.

"Oh please, Master Harry, it'll never happen again, please, please don't give old Kreacher clothes! Kreacher is a good house-elf! It'll never happen again! Kreacher will punish himself really good. Kreacher will slam his hands in the oven door, while it is hot!" Kreacher cried. He had large tears falling down his face and was balling his little fists in his eyes. He was also visibly shaking in fear as he edged toward the oven.

"No, Kreacher! Listen to me, please stop crying." Kreacher stopped instantly, but the sniffling continued. "Now look at me. Kreacher, I forbid you to ever punish yourself again. I am not giving you clothes just for sleeping in. I know that I am up early so I don't mind if you sleep in a bit. It doesn't matter, I know how to work a teapot. Okay?" Kreacher looked up at Harry with big grey-blue eyes.

"Master Harry is not…giving Kreacher clothes?" asked Kreacher hopefully.

"No, Kreacher I'm not. Come and sit at the table with me. I'd like to talk to you," said Harry as he went and got a second cup for tea. When he turned around Kreacher was sitting on the floor next to where Harry had been sitting before.

"No, Kreacher on a chair, please."

"Master, wants Kreacher to sit _at_ the table? Kreacher can't sit _at_ the table, Kreacher is only a lowly house-elf, he doesn't deserve to sit at the table," the elf said in disbelief which caused Harry to sigh.

"Kreacher, I'm asking you to please sit at the table with me." Kreacher stared at him, and Harry thought, _this is going to be harder than I expected._

"Kreacher sit at the table. That's an order." Kreacher ran to a chair and sat dutifully with his hands in his lap and his feet dangling off the chair. "Thank you, Kreacher. I want to discuss a few things with you before everyone wakes up." Harry handed the elf a cup of tea as he sat down in his chair. Kreacher stared at the cup in astonishment.

"Master Harry just served Kreacher a cup of tea? This is most irregular, Kreacher is the house-elf, Kreacher is the one who much serve Master…" he mumbled.

"Kreacher, do you remember Dobby, from Hogwarts?" asked Harry. Kreacher suddenly scowled.

"Oh, yes, Kreacher remembers that disgrace of an elf. Lowers his-self to demand pay and days off. No respective house-elf would do such a shameful thing. Dobby deserved to die—"

"Kreacher, shut your mouth!" Harry said sharply. Kreacher's mouth snapped shut as he realized that his master was angry.

"Dobby was a very special elf. He had bad masters, bad people who treated him badly. No one, not even house-elves deserve to be treated like the Malfoy's treat their elves. Understand?" Kreacher nodded, his wide eyes watching Harry in awe. "Good. Now, I know you don't want to be free so I'm going to set some rules straight right now, and if you take them as an order that's alright, but I am merely asking you.

"First, no more Master Harry. Please, just call me Harry, or if you feel the need Harry Potter is what Dobby called me, I guess that's okay too."

"What about Mister Harry?" asked the elf meekly. In his mind mister sounded a lot like master, so he could pretend that mister was master and Harry would be none the wiser.

"I guess Mister Harry is okay. I'd prefer just Harry, but if you have to work your way to it, I guess that's fine. Next thing, Hermione's parents will be staying here until they can find a flat to rent. They are muggles and I'm not sure how they'll react to you. I'll let them know about you, and if they are okay with you, then there should be no problems. If they call for you, go to them and do what they ask.

"Third thing, you will have one day off a week. It's your day to do as you want. I'm doing this because you are getting older and I appreciate your help around here. By the way, how old are you?" Harry had never thought about this but Kreacher was the oldest elf he'd ever met, and he wasn't sure how long they tended to live.

"Kreacher is not sure Ma-Mister Harry. Kreacher remembers tending to Master Orion when he was a babe which was 1929 and before that Master Arcturus in 1901. Before that however, Kreacher is a little foggy." Harry was dumbfounded. Kreacher was over ninety-five years old.

"Er, how old do house-elves usually live, Kreacher?" asked Harry. The elf thought for a moment.

"Kreacher would have to say about one-hundred and twenty years," the elf nodded. Harry did some quick calculations in his head. If Kreacher was about one hundred give or take a few years, then he'd only be around for maybe another twenty, if that. His idea of letting the elf have a day off once a week was sounding better by the minute. The last thing Harry needed was to find a dead elf on his kitchen floor in the morning.

"Here's another question that might help clear the fog. Did you serve anyone before Arcturus? Or were you a…baby elf?" Harry couldn't imagine what Kreacher would have looked like as a baby, but it brought interesting images to his mind of a tiny wrinkled, hairless, big eared, long nosed, doe eyed Kreacher.

"I do not remember any Masters before Master Arcturus. But I do not think I was a babe. Young perhaps, Mister Harry, but not a babe." Kreacher stared at Harry while he thought. Kreacher was clearly at least one hundred if not older.

"Okay, well then Kreacher, I'm going to say that if you ever feel ill, let me know and I can let you rest. Tell me if you're sick. That is an order. Next thing is, I want you to take a room for yourself. The little boiler room is too small and I want you to be comfortable. Besides, there's definitely enough rooms for you to have your own. Alright?" Kreacher started crying loud racking sobs. Harry jumped up and squatted next to the elf's chair. Immediately, Kreacher launched himself into Harry and hugged him.

"Master Harry is too nice to old Kreacher! Harry Potter is the bestest, most noble, most kind, most generous master ever!" at this Kreacher broke into more sobs and couldn't speak anymore. Harry patted him on the shoulder. He looked up when he heard a noise and saw Mrs. Granger staring wide eyed at the hairless animal clutching Harry around the hips.

"Ah, Mrs. Granger, I was hoping to tell you about my little friend here before you saw him just incase you happened to be frightened. This is Kreacher, he's my house-elf." At the friend comment Harry made Kreacher began to bawl even louder and wetter as he clung to Harry's waist. Harry continued to pat the elf's shoulder which created even more tears.

"I'm clear on what a house-elf is, I just didn't realize you owned one. Hermione is my daughter," the slightly shocked woman said as she walked further into the room. Harry chuckled.

"I don't know why I didn't think about that. Let me guess, end of fourth year?" Harry inquired as he pried the elf off of himself. He quietly, but nicely ordered Kreacher to choose his room soon and to make sure no one else was using it. Kreacher nodded as wandered off up the stairs sniffling, a euphoric look on his little face.

"Actually, it was before your fourth year. Right after the World Cup. She wrote to us appalled at the way that man Crotch? About the way he treated his elf, Blinky." Harry chuckled.

"Actually, it was Crouch and Winky. But he was kind of a crotchety old man." The two shared a quiet laugh over the slip of the tongue she had made.

"I'm still unsure about why you, a friend of my daughter, would actually own one of these poor creatures, let alone name it Kreacher," Mrs. Granger asked looking puzzled. Harry gave her a cup of tea while he spoke.

"Technically, I inherited him. My godfather, Sirius, died at the end of our fifth year and he left everything to me. Well, some of it went to Remus Lupin, I think, but mostly everything went to me." Harry looked into he teacup sadly. Mrs. Granger reached over and placed a hand on his arm.

"The ones we love aren't really gone. I didn't know your godfather but I can see that he left a lasting impression on you, and that is what counts." The words touched him deeply. He remembered Sirius's bark like laughter and he felt better.

"Well, he left me this house, which I hate; a load of money, which I hate and don't want; and his house-elf, which I used to hate, but now I don't. I've come to see Kreacher as a part of the family, kind of. I actually agree with Hermione that the treatment of elves is horrible. They are effectively slaves, bound to a family or a name for their whole lives. But if you've ever spoken with one, you'd know that they live for their jobs. The people who are kind and generous masters have a loyal friend and companion for life.

"Kreacher used to be hard to live with, but once I started treating him with respect he began treating me with respect. You saw how he gets before. I told him he was to have a day off every week, and he could choose a room in the house as his, and he sobbed all over me," Harry chuckled.

"But I'm not sure I understand. Hermione mentioned a younger elf named Donny, Daffy…"

"Dobby?" Harry supplied with a sad sigh.

"Yes, Dobby. She told us that he was happy to be freed and getting paid. He had the right idea," she said with a confused look.

"Yeah, well you'll get a nutter in every species I guess," Harry said using a phrase he'd heard Ron say before. Mrs. Granger looked even more confused so Harry elaborated.

"Dobby's first masters were supporters of Voldemort. To say the least would be saying they didn't treat Dobby very nicely. I helped free him, and he took to freedom like a child in a candy shop."

"Actually, you should say like Dobby to a sock drawer," Ron mumbled as he wandered in the room rubbing his eyes. Hermione and Ginny followed in also sleepy, and still in pajamas.

"Why are you guys talking about Dobby?" Hermione asked as she poured a cup of tea.

"Your mum had the pleasure of meeting Kreacher this morning." Hermione looked up at Harry mid pour with a look of shock.

"He wasn't too rude was he?" she asked, forgetting the tea.

"No. Hermione, the tea?" Harry pointedly looked down at her hand and she gasped when she realized that the puddle around her cup was getting dangerously close to the edge of the table. She quickly waved her wand and washed the table clear.

"Thanks Harry," she said, while Ron and Ginny snickered into their cups.

"No problem. Anyways, I think Kreacher was too shocked at my order to even realize that a Muggle was in the room." The others watched Harry and waited for him to continue. When it was clear he wasn't going to they prodded him to talk.

"Alright, I told him he was to have one day off a week, and his own room that's not the boiler room," he said softly. Hermione jumped up and squealed as she ran to hug Harry. Ron and Ginny rolled their eyes.

"Did you offer him pay too, Harry?" she asked exited.

""Well, I did think about it, but I learned something about him that you probably didn't know. Something that would probably mean offering money would insult him. He's over one hundred years old." The stunned silence made Harry chuckle.

"One hundred years old? Wow, for being a century old, he kind of looks good," Ron said earning a slap from his girlfriend. "What? I'm just saying that I though he was only about seventy-five or something. He looks good for a hundred." Hermione scowled at him for a few moments.

"Harry, about how long are the life span of house-elves?" Mrs. Granger asked from the stove where she had begun cooking breakfast for everyone.

"Well, I'm not quite sure about it, but Kreacher said about one hundred and twenty."

"So, the old codger's only got about twenty years left?" Ron asked getting another slap. Ginny laughed.

"Well, actually," Harry started. "He's probably got less than that. He's not sure the year he was born, so it's probably less. I'd say he's probably about one hundred and ten at the most." Harry spent the next ten minutes discussing house-elf laws and training before Mrs. Granger set piles of pancakes and sausages on the table in front of them.

While they ate Harry explained his day's plan with everyone and they all agreed to help Harry look for the portrait. Ginny had asked if she could come to the shop with him and help him pick out an owl when they left for Andromeda's and then they wouldn't have to borrow Hermes again.

Hermione reminded Harry he was supposed to meet Angelina and Katie at the Leaky Cauldron at nine. Harry saw that it was almost eight. Then he wondered where Mrs. Weasley was.

"Erm, Ron, Ginny, where's your mum?" he asked. Mrs. Granger snorted.

"Arthur and Michael sat up till the wee hours of the morning talking electronics and sipping whiskey until Molly came in and demanded that he follow her home. She whispered something in his ear that sounded like, Make it up to you at home, before he turned beet red and they both left, barely saying goodnight to us." Mrs. Granger was laughing pretty hard at the blushing faces of the teens in front of her.

"Mu-um, do you have to put those images in my head?" Hermione moaned which made her mother laugh even harder.

"What's the matter sweetheart? Was that a little too risqué for your _innocent_ mind?" asked Mrs. Granger, giving Hermione a very pointed look that everyone but Ron couldn't miss. Harry and Ginny hid their grins while Hermione turned pale, then a blotchy red color. Ron was still trying to the images of his parents out of his mind.

"Wow," whispered Harry to Ginny. "I've never seen anyone but my uncle turn two different shades of color before." Ginny snorted and covered her mouth and nose quickly, so all Harry could see was her very wide, brown eyes and reddening skin. He chuckled.

Hermione glanced at Ron quickly, saw that he was still occupied, and waved her mother out of the room. As soon as the two were out of ear shot, Harry and Ginny burst out laughing. Ron was shaken from his mutterings of plum pudding, corned beef, bogie flavored beans and slug burps to see Harry and Ginny laughing hard and Hermione and her mum nowhere in sight.

"What's going on? Why're you laughing and where'd Hermione go?" His questions were drowned out by the others loud laughter. When he failed for the sixth time to get an answer from them he stormed from the room, the back of his red neck showing his anger and frustration.

By the time Harry and Ginny calmed down, it was ten past eight and they still needed to get ready. They decided to put off the search for the portrait until either later that night or after their trip. At half-past the hour, they were both showered and ready to leave, so they wandered down to the kitchen to see Mrs. Granger serving Mr. Granger some breakfast. They told them where'd they be if they were needed, and to send Ron or Hermione if they needed anything before they left.

Ginny dragged him up and down Diagon Alley, which was surprisingly empty this early in the morning. Only a few shops were open before nine, and that included the Leaky Cauldron, and the Owl Post Office. Harry decided to send the owl to Oliver from the post office before their meeting and buy a new owl later in the day.

He was not eager to replace Hedwig, but it had been almost a year since she had died and Harry knew that he would need to get a new owl sooner or later for postal reasons. He just didn't think any owl could ever replace the familial feeling Hedwig gave him. She had represented family and friends all in one small, winged body and Harry felt that one owl or pet could never come close to being such a close companion as her. She was the one who was with him at the Dursley's every summer no matter what. She was the one he could talk to when he had no one else around. That kind of bond wasn't to be repeated, because he was never to return to that situation. This thought made it even harder for Harry to just replace Hedwig.

Ginny felt Harry's melancholy and held his hand as they wandered past the Owl Emporium's closed doors. No words were spoken but Harry felt calmer knowing that she was there with him.

They sent off the letter Harry had written before going to sleep the night before and wandered back towards the Leaky Cauldron. They found a booth and Tom brought them a pot of tea, "On the house for you Mr. Potter. I'll not take a Knut from you," Old Tom said to him. Harry scowled at the special treatment but Ginny's foot rubbing up his trousers was enough of a distraction for him. When her foot hit mid thigh and he gasped at the touch, they heard the door open. Instantly, her foot was back on the floor and he was breathing deeply, trying to control his manly urges. Ginny smirked at his obvious discomfort and he growled at her.

"Harry? Did you just growl at her?" The two looked up to see Angelina and Katie standing a few feet away smirking. Harry blushed and Ginny's smirk widened.

"Why, yes, Angelina, he did. But it's all okay. He was just trying to intimidate me, but he knows it won't work. Have a seat, girls," Ginny replied with a smile. The two sat opposite while Ginny scooted over to Harry's side. Harry explained the issue with his house and made them make the same promise as everyone the night before. He watched as they read the slip of paper he handed them and it burn to ash in their hands.

A half an hour later, sitting in the Drawing room of his house, he finished explaining George's situation and what he was asking of them. He remembered a question he was going to ask the night before but didn't get too.

"Would either of you want too, or be able too, help take over the shop for a while. I might be returning to school in the fall, and if George still isn't up to running the place, I may need someone to help run the shop. Verity said she needs to return to her uncle's shop eventually. She's willing to teach someone to run the shop with me, so once she leaves we'll still have two people who can run it for a while. At least until I return to school. But I have a lot of stuff coming up this summer, so I won't be able to be there all the time. I need someone. If one of you two can't do it I can ask Lee or Alicia." Harry watched the two exchange glances.

"I can do it for now Harry, but maybe you should have both of us taught just in case. That way when you go off to do something and, say one of us is ill, the other can still be there," said Angelina quietly. She'd had the harder reaction to George's situation of the two girls sitting before him. She clearly wanted to help George out of his slump. Harry thought about the plan, nodding.

"I think that will work. Thanks for the suggestion, Ange," he said. She smiled shyly at him and Harry was confused for a moment why the older girl would suddenly act this way. Ginny raise an eyebrow at the older girl and made her point clear with no words and Harry being none the wiser. He showed the girls to the Floo and watched them go and then turned to Ginny.

"Ready to head to the shop?" he asked. She nodded eagerly. "It's not pretty, I'll warn you now." After another few more warnings Harry brought Ginny to the front stoop and she held his arm while he Apperated them to the back room of the WWW shop, to the emergency Apperating spot between shelves. Ginny sneezed when the dust flew up around them.

She followed Harry out into the main shopping area and gagged at the smell.

"What is that?" she asked plugging her nose. Harry was grimacing at the smell also, but he'd smelled it before and was ready for it.

"I do believe it's a mixture of spoilt Puking Pastilles and dead Pygmy Puffs," he replied. She gagged again and he cast a bubblehead charm on her. She smiled at him gratefully and watched him do the same to himself. They had a quarter of an hour to wait for Verity so they decided to tidy a bit. Harry had told George the night before that he would be here early to work on the shop and if he wanted to come down, he could. George had given him a withering look and turned to walk away without saying anything.

Harry unlocked the front door but kept up the sign to discourage anyone but Verity from entering.

Soon the smell was gone, and most of the dust was also cleaned up. They heard a faint gong noise and the room brightened slightly when the door opened. Harry saw Verity take a look around.

"Well, it looks better than I thought it would," she muttered before seeing Harry and Ginny there, covered in dust, with bubbles around their heads. She smiled at them and said hello.

"Well," Harry said, "It's a little better now that we got rid of the dust and the smell. But there's still a lot of work to do." The three of them sat down and talked about what was needed, what it would cost, how much of everything they needed and made list, after list, after list. Around noon, Verity had to leave for her uncles shop. She was going to go explain what was going on, and that she was needed for about a month, maybe less, at her old job. She planned on coming back the next day, as would Harry for a little while, to get everything organized.

After she left, Harry and Ginny decided to walk down the Alley and search for a baby toy and some more diapers for Andromeda.

Ginny had also almost convinced Harry that he needed another owl. So they went for the baby supplies first. In the store Little Witch and Wizards, Harry watched Ginny coo and cuddle every stuffed animal and point and sigh at all the little witch outfits for a half an hour. Finally, they chose a small, floating mobile that the pictures changed whenever the child would get bored. It would float above the child and dance in front of them when they sat up. It also sang lullabies softly to help soothe a child into dream land.

They also picked another two packs of self-cleaning diapers, since one pack only contained six diapers and each were only good for a day or two before the charm would wear off, Harry figured Andromeda would appreciate them. He got the added bonus packs that would change colors when the charm wore off, instead of letting the smell escape because he thought that they'd be interesting.

Harry heard Ginny's stomach growl and realized that it was half-past noon.

"Why don't we get something to eat now?" Harry suggested hopefully.

"We'll get the owl first then eat." Harry sighed dejectedly. Ginny stared at him confused. She had always wanted an owl, but they couldn't afford to buy each child an owl. She knew Harry missed his old owl, but necessity demanded he get one soon. She knew if she left it to him it could be years before he wised up and got one.

They wandered to the Emporium and walked in holding their packages. Harry stared glumly around. He saw several owls sitting in cages around the walls, but most of them were freely perched in the open. He saw a large white Snowy Owl near the window and wandered closer. He reached out his hand to pet the owl and it hissed at him and swiped at Harry's hand with its razor sharp talons.

Harry retreated quickly, mumbling to himself.

"Ah, I see you've met Stella. She's not the most friendly thing. Which is part of the reason I named her, instead of relying on her being sold. The name fits her though. Are you looking for a Snowy?" a raggedy old woman asked from behind a counter.

"No. I had a Snowy before and I…don't want to…I don't want a Snowy," Harry said quickly. The woman took a closer look and Harry saw her eyebrows rise slightly, but she made no point of cooing over him. She nodded her head as if she understood.

"Well, dearies if you find something you like, let me know, I'll be happy to help you out if you can't choose either." The strange woman wandered into the back room again, leaving him and Ginny in the dark room.

"Harry, come here and look at this one," she said from the rear of the room a moment later. Harry sighed and wandered back slowly. When he rounded the corner he saw Ginny standing in front of the cage of a large Eagle owl.

"No. Not an Eagle owl. I refuse," Harry said as he turned away. Ginny opened her mouth when Harry turned but saw him stop suddenly staring at a cage. He walked towards it slowly as if not to frighten the inhabitants. She wandered closer and saw two dark colored owls, one slightly larger than the other. Harry was staring at the smaller one and Ginny saw it was staring back, its companion was sleeping.

It had large black, mournful eyes and a heart shaped face. It was only about 12 inches in length from head to toe, and its companion only a few inches larger.

Harry stared at the somber looking owl for several long minutes. Ginny didn't say anything because she thought maybe this is how you buy an owl. A connection has to be made. She watched the two stare at each other for several long minutes until the owl hooted softly to wake its mate, its eyes never leaving Harry.

The mate looked up and around seeing Harry and Ginny watching them. It made eye contact with Ginny and she felt the pull of the trance Harry had been in. For several long minutes they stared at the two owls and the owls stared back.

Finally, the owls broke contact simultaneously and closed their eyes. Harry and Ginny looked at each other and smiled. They wandered up to the front and rang the bell to call the clerk.

"Did you find something you want young man?" The lady wandered forth and smiled. "Ah, yes, you have. I see the look of those who've found their familiars. Come with me and show me to them," she said. Harry looked shocked. His familiar? Was an owl?

Ginny was shocked also. She had been in a trance as well, but didn't think she had made that kind of connection. She had felt a sadness from the female and felt like it had something to do with her egg, but she hadn't known why. Usually familiars could, in a way, speak to their humans. Ginny walked behind the lady and Harry, confused about the strange comment.

Harry led the woman to the cage and she gasped.

"Oh dear. I had not imagined that anyone would want these two. They are Lesser Sooty owls. Unfortunately, I cannot sell one without the other for they are life mates. They have already hatched one youngling together before being transported here. Lesser Sooty's mate for life. They cannot be sold separately." The woman looked to Harry as did Ginny.

Harry was staring at the owl with a sad look.

"They lost their chick didn't they?" he asked softly. The woman's eyes widened.

"Ah, that would make a good deal of sense. They have been very quiet and solemn since they arrived. Which one told you this?" asked the woman. Ginny watched Harry stare at the bird.

"It wasn't so much as he told me, but I could understand the look he gave me. I also knew he was male and she was female. So, if he's my familiar, what exactly does that mean?" Harry asked the clerk.

"Why don't we go up front and talk. Let them sleep." They wandered upfront and the lady waved them into the back room.

The lady offered them comfortable chintz armchairs to sit on and offered them tea. They turned her down for the tea and Harry repeated his question.

"Well, my dear, a familiar is a term you understand right?" Harry nodded his head briefly.

"Kind of, but isn't it usually like a cat or raven or something?" Harry asked.

"Sometimes, but they can actually be any animal you can connect too. History has skewed the term horribly over the decades. Familiar is a being or spirit in animal form that is there to help their person. If a person who has a familiar feels lonely, abject, or depressed the familiar would present them with a reason to be happy. They are a companion that will never turn on you, and will always be there if you need them.

"Most people can communicate somehow with their familiar, whether it be with a mind link, or by mutual understanding of body language and facial expressions. There are other things familiars can do, but I would suggest the book, So You've Met Your Familiar by Gulliver Pokeby, to help you understand them." She stood and walked to a shelf and pulled off an older looking tome. She waved a wand over it to clear the dust and handed it to Harry.

"But, I thought you said you couldn't sell him," Harry said confused. The woman chuckled.

"Nay, I said I could not sell them separately. If you are willing to take on two owls, I have no problem selling them to you, young man, goodness knows I wont be able to sell two foreign breed owls together like this."

"Why not? What's wrong with them being foreign?" Ginny demanded.

"Oh nothing dearie, there are just some people who would think that foreign born owls dream of returning to their home lands. But that's a load of tosh. My familiar is an owl from Australia, a Boobook breed. She's told me several times that she likes it here more than there. So I have no worries about foreign birds."

The three sat and talked for several more minutes about familiars and how to care for the breeding pair. Twenty minutes after entering the store, Harry and Ginny left carrying two cages, a double perch with added side nest, and a large bag of owl treats. The decided to Apparate back home and drop off all the stuff before heading to see Teddy. They Floo'd to Grimmauld Place and set down all their stuff in the kitchen.

"Hello?" Ginny called up the stairs but she heard no reply. Her stomach rumbled louder than before which made Harry chuckle.

"Lunch it is then. How about some turkey sandwiches and crisps?" Harry asked. Ginny stomach answered for her with another loud rumble. The two laughed as they made their lunches.

"Harry?" Ginny asked. "Why were you so reluctant to buy another owl?" She took a bite of her sandwich while he glanced at the two owls they had yet to name. They were perched in the corner together sleeping snuggled close to their mates.

"I just didn't want to just replace Hedwig. She was…one of my best friends. I know that can be hard to understand but, when I was at the Dursley's every summer, she was the only one I could share anything with. I couldn't send everything by mail to you guys, so I talked to her. I know she couldn't talk back but I could tell she understood. Does that make sense?" Harry said morosely. Ginny sat back and chewed her food thoughtfully.

"Yes, that makes sense," she said after swallowing. "She was your companion. Someone who would watch out for you, when no one else could. I…" she stopped talking to think about how to word her next thought. "I'm sorry if I rushed you into getting a new owl, Harry. I didn't really understand before about what exactly Hedwig meant to you." Harry looked at Ginny.

"It's okay, Gin. I knew I would need to get a new owl eventually. I just haven't really grieved for Hedwig yet, I guess. It just hit me today, hard, that I was never going to see her again." Harry sighed as his eyes watered. Ginny stood up and walked over to where he was sitting and sat in his lap. He pulled her into a hug as he buried his face into her shoulders and hair and sniffled.

"Harry, it's okay to cry for her. She was a great owl. It might help to talk about certain things about her. Share stories, if you want?" He nodded is head and pulled it out from under her hair.

"You want to know something? She was my first ever real birthday present I can remember. Not just something the Dursley's threw at me, or a toy from before my parents died. But a real present I can actually remember getting. Hagrid got her for me the day I found out I was a wizard. She was…" Harry sniffled loudly. "She was my friend." Harry started to softly cry in to Ginny's shoulder and she rubbed his back and let him grieve.

After several minutes Harry sat back up. Ginny looked at his face.

"You okay now?" she asked quietly. He nodded and smiled softly.

"Sorry I got your shirt wet, at least I didn't snot on it," he chuckled.

"Well, I'm glad for that, wet I can deal with, snot would just be gross," she laughed.

"I remember one summer, I think it was before third year, she was sitting in her cage and I had just gotten a letter from Ron. I was reading it and laughing at his story about the Egyptian tomb where the twins made the mummy start following Percy around whining about making a boom-boom in his wrappings. Hedwig gave me this look, like, well, what's so funny? So I read it too her and she hooted so loud my uncle started yelling. He hated her so much. But she hated him just as much. Sometimes, I think she made a racket just to annoy him." Harry smiled sadly at the memory. Ginny smiled at the memory of the mummy and his brothers.

"My goodness I had forgotten about that trip. Percy didn't talk to Fred and George for almost a week for that stunt." Harry and Ginny laughed for several minutes over memories of Hedwig while they finished their lunches.

"We should probably name these two shouldn't we?" Harry supposed. Ginny looked at them curiously.

"It might take me a while but I will think of something for her. Do you want me to think of something for him as well?" Ginny asked.

Harry remembered the disaster named Pigwidgeon and quickly replied, "I'll name him, that's okay."

"Well, I think we should get going to Andromeda's soon, okay?" she replied. Harry agreed and the two quickly cleaned up the kitchen and wrote a note telling whoever came home first that the owls were theirs and they would be back later, before Floo calling Andromeda to get the okay to come over. She was thrilled that they called and said to come over right away, so they left each carrying a package.

* * *

A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long…this chapter was a butt, as in a pain in the…It's kind of dull, but I have the next chapter written and titled, so I just need to write chapter 24 and then I'll post ch 23. I have many ideas so it should be quick going. What did y'all think of Kreacher and the Familiars…feedback people…I need it like air…

Now, I know I've mentioned this before, but people really, I am a review whore. They are like air and water to me. They create inspiration. To only get 3 reviews for a chapter that gave me a horrible time because I was crying and laughing and…chapter 21 was a really hard, great, terrible chapter for me to write and I asked specific questions in my a/n about what you liked and how I wrote a certain character and I only got 3 reviews. Callie258, Harrypotter crazy!!, and Rebecca I thank you three for reviewing. But I know there are more people out there reading, I have 233 hits for ch. 21, and I know I have 59 people on the alert list for this story…don't a lurker people, it's creepy…

I usually don't like doing this but for anyone who leaves an anonymous review and asks a question or leaves a nice comment and I feel compelled to answer I'll do it here, otherwise it's PM's for those of you who have an account.

**Rebecca:** I actually got the goblin subplot and the baby analogy from another story, titled Harry Potter and the Antiquity Link by semprini on Snoogle dot com. Very good story! Highly recommended by me. Thanks for mentioning the goblin thing in your review, I like it when people notice the little things like that and say something about them.


	23. Keeping It Warm

Finally, I am Back! Disclaimer: Still not mine, though I do enjoy this delightful playground!

* * *

**Keeping It Warm**

"Harry! Ginny! What I nice surprise to get to see you two. I figured you'd be too busy the two days back before going to America to come see us." Andromeda said as she bustled around making tea. Bottles littered the countertops and clean baby clothes needing to be folded on the table were staked and piled everywhere. Toys were situated in corners and under the table and even above the ice box in the corner. Harry looked around for the tot and couldn't see him.

"Well, of course we'd come and see you guys. Harry missed Teddy a lot while we were in Australia. Has my mum been here yet? She said she was going to visit while we were gone," Ginny said while she helped the older woman around the kitchen. They shooed Harry away from helping and told him to wait so he returned to the table and sat there. The women talked and gossiped for several minutes and forgot Harry was there. Through listening to their conversation he learned that Teddy was having an afternoon nap at the moment so he had sat the diapers and mobile on the counter. He watched the women chatter away and started fiddling with the clothes on the table.

Several minutes went by and Ginny and Andromeda returned to the table with tea and biscuits to find Harry quietly folding onesies and cloth nappies, making piles by color and type of clothing. They were so shocked Harry didn't notice them starting until he realized he heard no chattering and looked up. Half the clothing was now folded and the table was cleared enough for the tray of snacks, so he waved at their hands and the table.

"Go ahead and put it down, I've cleared a spot." Andromeda recovered from her shock first and placed the tray down and smiled.

"What a gentleman, thank you Harry for folding these things. I was going to get around to cleaning up this afternoon while Teddy was asleep, but a visit from you guys is worth putting it off until tonight. I want to hear all about Australia." The two teens shared their stories of their visit to Sydney and recovering Hermione's parents and Andromeda shared a few stories of Teddy. An hour after they arrived a sharp cry emanated from Andromeda's pocket. She jumped up and pulled out her wand muttered something and the crying stopped.

"Sounds like the little guy is up, I'll run back and get him. Be right back," she said as she rushed towards the little boys room.

"Harry," Ginny whispered. "Does she seem a little…"

"Perky?" Harry asked.

"Yeah. When you came through to ask if we could come over, did you notice anything strange?" Ginny asked quietly.

"Well, she was just sitting at the table staring at the pile of clothes. She looked a little sad, too," he replied. Ginny looked at him quizzically.

"I think she might be depressed, Harry. Or lonely," she added sadly. Just then Andromeda returned with a sleepy Teddy. He was rubbing his eyes and yawning. His hair was dirty blonde, and tousled and he was wearing a tiny little tee shirt with a hippogriff on the front. Ginny watched as Harry's eyes lit up and he smiled a happy smile.

"There he is! Teddy, my little man! Can I hold him?" Harry asked as he held his hands out. Andromeda smiled and handed the baby over to Harry. Teddy looked up at Harry and yawned which made Harry laugh.

"Are you still tired little guy? Where's Puff, ah there he is! Gin, could you hand me that dragon?" Harry pointed to a spot near Ginny's left foot and she smiled. Harry waved the dragon around in front of Teddy while it puffed out small smoke animals. Teddy squealed with glee and giggled like crazy trying to catch the little animals with his fists. Andromeda smiled sadly as she watched while a bottle was heating up. Harry chuckled as more animals came out and his godson's face lit up happily.

"Exactly how old is he now, Andromeda?" Ginny asked.

"Oh, he'll be three months in about a week," answered the older woman as she turned back to the stove. Ginny had caught the sad smile on her face before she noticed Ginny was looking. Ginny's earlier suspicion that the woman was lonely was probably more right than she realized and she vowed to talk to her mum before they all left the next day. Harry and Ginny played with Teddy for a while changing off so they could each help Andy, as she told them to call her, clean around the house. Soon enough the toys were piled up in a corner basket, dishes were washed, clothing folded and floors were washed.

"You two are a God send, I can't thank you enough," Andy said as they gathered up their stuff to leave.

"It's no problem Andy, we're glad we could help. I only wish I didn't have to go to America. I wish I could stay and help out some more. I feel like your taking on all the responsibility, and I'm just leaving you to it. I'm his godfather, I should be around more," Harry replied sadly as he hugged Teddy for the fifth time.

Teddy giggled and blinked and his hair took on a messy quality and changed to black again, which caused Harry to smile sadly. He had watched Teddy change his hair from black to red all afternoon, to resemble either his or Ginny's hair. It was hilarious when he made it grow as long as Ginny's, it became longer than his own body. Andromeda had needed to stop cleaning briefly to give Teddy a haircut seeing as how the tot could make his hair grow but couldn't yet shrink it. Harry had laughed so hard he'd shot tea out his nose when he learned that.

"Don't you worry about that, Harry. You are only a teenager, you shouldn't have to take on such a responsibility quite yet. I am still here, I don't mind caring for my only grandson. It just gets a little lonely here with only an infant to talk too. Ginny, dear, tell your mum I said hello. Thank you for the diapers, again. They are a life saver, come by when you guys get back, and bring Ron and Hermione next time. Buh-Bye! Wave Teddy," Andromeda waved Teddy's pudgy little fist at them while they Floo'd away.

* * *

Back at Grimmauld place, Harry found Ron and Hermione in the drawing room, snuggling and sharing kisses. He cleared his throat and watched them jump up from the sofa quickly. He and Ginny chuckled at them as the two grumbled about interruptions.

"Oh, knock it off you two. Just be glad we weren't your parents," Ginny replied as she plopped down on the loveseat. "So, we came home earlier, and no one was here. Where'd you two run off too?"

"Well," Ron looked at Hermione. "We went with 'Mione's parents looking for a new house. They're still out there with a Real-Tour on a tour of a flat near London. We got bored, so we came back here."

"What about you guys? How'd the meeting this morning with Verity go?" asked Hermione.

"It went okay. We also cleaned up the shop a bit too. Then we went shopping for baby stuff, got Teddy a present and more diapers and I got a new owl, so did Ginny," he said quickly.

"Yeah I saw the owls in the kitchen. Nice looking ones, though they looked a little depressed," Ron mumbled.

"They're a mating pair. Before they were shipped here, they had an egg and it died. Harry made a familiar connection with the male," said Ginny. Ron and Hermione looked at Harry shocked.

"You found your familiar? Lucky," Ron chuckled.

"Harry, that's wonderful. Finding a familiar is a great experience. How did it happen? Tell me all about it," said Hermione quickly with a smile. Harry sighed and recounted the experience of making eye contact with the male owl and the chat they had with the clerk about familiars and owls. When he described the connection and how the owl told him about their egg, Ginny was shocked to learn that the owl didn't exactly speak to Harry, but it was more of a feeling than words.

Ginny thought quickly about what Harry was saying and decided to see for herself if what he said was true. She offered tea to everyone and said she'd run go get it while they kept talking. She ran down to the kitchen and quickly made the tea without looking at the birds in the corner. While the water was steeping she walked over to the birds and saw the female open her eyes. She looked into her eyes and instantly teared up at the pain she could feel. This mother bird was grieving for her chick.

"Oh, you poor bird. Come here," Ginny held out her arm for the owl to perch on and walked over to the table to sit. "I know it's painful. I can feel it. I just hope you can recover from this." Ginny and the bird sat in silence sharing emotions back and forth. Ginny shared her sadness about Fred, and the others who died. Her confusion at how to help her brother recover, and her happiness that Harry, Ron, and Hermione were okay. The owl shared her confusion at why she was ripped from her nest, and the sadness of leaving her egg behind. She shared her love for her mate, and the sadness she held for him at how he was taking their relocation.

Just as the tea pot started to sing, Ginny whispered to the owl, "I think you're my familiar."

Ginny wandered up the stairs holding the tray of teacups, teapot, and biscuits precariously placing each foot carefully. She arrived at the door to the drawing room and Harry jumped up to help her with the tray.

"Harry, I know what I'm naming my owl," she said happily. "Aphrodite." Harry looked at her weirdly.

"The goddess of love? Eh, whatever, she's your owl. I was thinking of naming the male, Charcoal." Ginny looked at him with her mouth agape.

"No, I will not allow you to name that poor creature Charcoal. Give him a name with meaning. You need to talk to him, get to know him better before you name him."

"Gin, it's an owl not a parrot, they don't exactly talk. And what's wrong with Charcoal? That's a good name," Harry complained. Ron and Hermione watched with smiles.

"Charcoal is a cat's name. Owl's are wise and deserve real names, especially your familiar," Ginny replied firmly as she poured their tea.

"Well, what about…Shadow?"

"Nope."

"Cloud?"

"Oh, Merlin no, the poor beast."

"Whisper." Harry was smiling. Ron and Hermione tried to hide their chuckles.

"Why?"

"No, for the name."

"Goodness no."

"Ash."

"No"

"Soot."

"It's a Sooty Owl, naming him Soot would be like naming it Owl, that's ridiculous.'

"Er, Night?"

"No."

"Hey, Hermione. This is how she got me to tell her to just name Pig. Every name I came up with was stupid to her, so I just said you name him then and he ended up Pigwidgeon. Poor bird," Ron muttered earning a laugh from Hermione.

"Blackie."

"No."

"Cinder?"

"No."

"Dusty."

"Nope."

"Midnight."

"No."

"Oberon"

"Where'd you get that one?"

"A play. What about it?"

"Hm, it might work."

"Well? Will it?" Harry asked.

"Can you imagine calling your familiar Oberon for ever?" Ginny asked.

"Well, no. I just said it because I didn't think you'd like it," he replied. Ron snickered at them earning a glare from Ginny.

"Well, Harry, your owl needs a good name. Something that means something. Where did you get the name Hedwig?" she asked.

"My History of Magic book, before first year," he replied.

"Well, why not look there again?" asked Ginny.

"Because I don't want too," he smirked at her.

"Well, then come up with a list of names, but first go to the kitchen and sit with your familiar for a little while. Now," Ginny said confidently as she pointed at the door. He sighed dejectedly and wandered to the door slowly.

"And Harry, if you're this bad at naming things, I'm naming our children," she said with a coy smile. Harry looked at her with horror.

"Ch-children?" he muttered. Ron burst out laughing. Harry turned and walked out of the room quickly, before he turned any redder.

"That wasn't very nice Ginny," said Hermione, who smiled at the other girl.

"I know," she grinned. Ron shook his head smiling.

"Girls," he muttered before standing up. "I'm going to go console Harry." He walked out leaving the girls laughing.

He strolled to the kitchen where he found Harry pacing in front of the owls, muttering about kids and women. Ron chuckled which brought Harry's attention to him.

"What are you laughing about?" he asked.

"Nothing, just the fact that Ginny totally got you good," Ron chortled. Harry stopped and looked at his best friend in shock.

"She was joking? Oh, that little witch," he muttered. He looked over at the owls who were still watching him from when he was pacing, and he picked up the male owl. "Ginny, says I need to name you. Got any ideas?" he asked the owl. The somber looking bird stared into Harry's eyes and Harry got an image of something that made him burst out laughing.

"That's what I said!" he told the bird. Ron watched perplexed.

"What do you mean?" he asked Harry.

"Oh, nothing, he just gave me a image of a night sky, he means darkness or something that has to do with dark," Harry responded. Ron stared at the bird.

"The owl gave you an image?" he asked.

"Yeah, kind of like telepathy or legilimency. He showed me an image and I interpreted it as he means dark. Along with the image I got a feeling like…it's hard to explain. It's like, when you think of dark, you get a feeling inside like some people are scared of the dark? Does that make any sense?" Ron shook his head, bewildered. Harry sighed.

"Well, it doesn't really matter. I don't know how else to explain it. Help me come up with some names, okay?" The two young men and an owl spent a half an hour coming up with names and running them past the owl, who gave Harry a negative feeling or a positive feeling for how he felt for the names. Finally, Harry, out of exasperation, said a name that Ron and the owl perked up and smiled at. Harry got a warm happy feeling from the owl and realized that he'd found a name. He smiled and shouted for Ginny. The two girls arrived and sat down at the table where Harry had gestured. He had the male owl on his arm and he stood in front of the girls and Ron.

"Ginny, Hermione, I'd like to introduce you too, Archimedes."

* * *

A few hours later, after the girls finished cooing over Archimedes and Aphrodite's names, the four left the house and Apperated to the Creevey's backyard. They walked around to the front and knocked on the door. A small boy answered the door and peeked out.

"Who're you?" he asked through the crack of the door.

"Er, we're friends of Denis's, is he home?" Hermione asked in a perky voice.

"Peter? Who's there?" A voice asked as they walked closer. The door opened wider and they saw a woman they recognized as Denis's aunt. "Oh, you four were at the funeral weren't you? Come on in, are you here for Denis?" she asked.

"Er, yeah, is he here?" asked Harry. They wandered into the sitting room and saw Peter and four other kids on the floor in front of a Playstation. Two of them, the older two, were gesturing wildly as the other three shouted for them to go left and avoid the three legged giant. Ron and Ginny were drawn to the television and wanted to join the kids, but Harry and Hermione held on to them tightly.

"Well, actually Denis ran off a while ago. His mother told me he's fairly depressed and has been tending to lash out at his family. Poor boy. You might be able to stay for a while and see if he returns soon, if you want." She waved her hand at the couch where a younger girl was sitting reading a book with a lion on the front.

"Er, actually, I think we'll walk around and see if we can find him. If we can't we'll just go home." Harry started to pull Ginny to the door while Hermione did the same with Ron.

"Okay, when he gets home I'll let him know you stopped by, that is if you don't find him. Thanks for stopping by," said their friend's aunt. The foursome wandered up the street towards the only other place Harry could think Denis would be; the cemetery.

The neared the plot of land where Colin was buried and saw a greasy tuft of dirty blonde hair sticking up from the other side of the stone. Harry and Ginny shared a look before they walked forward. They circled the stone and saw the small boy, only a few years younger than them staring off into space. As soon as they were in his view, he blinked and looked at them, glaring.

"What do you want, Potter? Didn't torment me enough yesterday? Came back for more?" Denis said scathingly. Ron and Hermione gasped, drawing Denis's attention to them. "Oh, and you had to bring back up? Hero Harry and the Golden Trio need to save another soul? Well, get bent, Potter. I don't want your help." Denis stood up and swayed. That's when Harry saw the deep circles under the younger boys eyes, and smelled the body odor from him.

"Denis, have you gotten any sleep lately? Or eaten anything?" Ginny asked quietly. Hermione looked at the boy with concern.

"Why do you care? I'll tell you something, you _don't_ really care. You guys just want another thing under your belts for people to worship you for. Go to hell," Denis started to walk away but before he made it a few steps, Ron stopped him with a quick spell.

"Denis, what is your bloody problem? You're acting like a giant prat. Harry and Ginny care about you, so do Hermione and I. You were a fellow D.A. member, and D.A. members watch out for each other," Ron said vehemently. Denis looked at Ron and yawned pointedly.

"Yeah, sure. You care about me as much as you cared about Colin. He was just a nerd who followed you around taking pictures. You only put up with him because you were too nice to tell him to stop, and in the end following you guys around only got him killed." Denis turned to Harry. "It's your fault Potter that my brother is dead," Denis spat loudly.

Harry gasped and tears filled his eyes. It was bad enough that he felt that way, but to have it thrown in his face like this was too much. Ginny and Hermione both gasped at the harsh words Denis threw at Harry. Ron saw red and punched Denis hard in the nose. Blood spurt from both nostrils and they all heard a loud crack of bones breaking.

"Take it back Creevey, it's not his fault! He couldn't do anything to save your idiot brother, who shouldn't have even been there, it's Colin's own fault he died. Not Harry's, how dare you say that, you little prick," Ron shouted. Hermione and Ginny pulled Ron away from Denis and Hermione walked forward with her wand out to fix his nose when he yanked himself away from her, despite the spell holding him stationary, and fell to the ground.

"It's true though, if Colin hadn't have stayed at the school that night, he'd still be here. The only reason he stayed was because _he_ was there. Potter was there, so Colin had to stay. _I promised to help Harry no matter what the danger!_ he said. _I'm a D.A. member, and I was trained for this fight!_ I told him to not go, _**I told him**_! But _no_, Harry's there, gotta help Harry_ bloody_ Potter!" Denis screamed. Hermione stared at him wide eyed and mouth agape. Harry was shaking his head and muttering to himself when he suddenly collapsed on the ground.

"Harry!" Ginny yelped. She fell to the ground next to him and began muttering to him quietly. "Don't listen to him, Harry. He's depressed and doesn't mean what he's saying. Just ignore him. You know what Colin would say right now, remember your dream, Harry," Ginny whispered to him. Meanwhile, Hermione had silenced Denis and fixed his nose. Ron was seething and being held in check by his girlfriend who had body-binded him and sat him on a bench nearby. Hermione knew that Ginny could handle Harry's emotional trauma, Ron was taken care of so she would handle the teen on the ground.

"Now, you listen to me Denis Creevey, and you listen well," she began firmly. "Colin's death is NOT Harry's fault. Colin made his choice that night to come and help fight. It was his choice and his alone. Not Harry's, not mine, not Ron's and not yours. Colin's. He made the choice to come and help and he died for that choice. I'm sorry for your brother's death, but sometimes things happen and we can't do anything to stop them from happening. We just have to learn to live with the past and move on. Blaming others won't help you feel better in the long run and what you said to Harry was just plain mean. You know that he had nothing to do with Colin's decision anymore than his decision to do photography. Now apologize to Harry," Hermione demanded. Denis stared at her and didn't reply. Hermione waited for several long minutes.

"I'm not apologizing. I meant what I said," Denis finally said.

"Fine then don't. But I want you to understand something, Denis, we are your friends, and friends don't hurt each other like that. Harry has never done anything to hurt you, and you just said something to him that is so far from the truth, and so hurtful, that I'd be surprised if Harry ever speaks to you again because of it. You aren't the only one who loved Colin. He was our friend too. We'll miss him dearly, and your attitude is beyond reproach. We wouldn't be here right now if we didn't care about you or Colin. You should be embarrassed by how you just treated someone who's never been mean to you, ever." Hermione unlocked Ron and gestured to Ginny and Harry to get up and get ready to leave.

"We're leaving for a few days, but if you want to talk, you can contact us through the Burrow, and Ron and Ginny's parents. We are not going to give up on you, Denis, because we still care about you. You should go home and visit with your cousins and aunt. They care about you too. And take a shower, eat a hot meal, and get some sleep. You're hurting yourself isn't going to bring Colin back. You're torturing yourself by sitting at his gravesite day in a day out, you need to stop this, because it's only causing you more pain." Hermione unlocked Denis from the bind he was in before she began to lead the others away.

"What would you know about pain? You've ever lost anyone close to you Granger. How can you possibly be able to lecture me about pain and grieving, and what's healthy and not? You've never went through this kind of pain, so why should I listen to you?" Denis shouted at their backs. Hermione stopped and turned around.

"You may be right about that Denis, I've never lost someone so close as a sibling, but I've lost many friends in this war, Colin was just one of them. And I'll tell you something, Fred and Tonks were close enough to be my brother and sister, and I'll miss them forever. Colin was a good friend, he was always there when we needed someone to talk too and he always had his camera during the good times and the bad. Thanks to him, most of my favorite memories were captured by him on film, and I can never repay him for that. So don't you dare imply that I have a free conscience in this, because I lost many people. Ron and Ginny lost a brother and you don't see them moping on his grave all day. Harry lost more people in this war than anyone I know, and you don't see him giving up. You are acting like a coward Denis Creevey, a bloody coward, and if you don't knock it off, I'm going to tell your mother on you." Hermione turned around and stomped away. Harry, Ginny, and Ron followed her staring wide eyed at her.

Halfway down the road she slowed her gait for them to catch up.

"Er, Hermione, you threatened to tell him mum about what? That he was mean to Harry? Isn't that kind of an empty threat?" Ron asked.

"No, Ron, it isn't. And no, not that he was mean to Harry, that he's been sitting on Colin's grave all day when he wanders off. It's not healthy. She should know this, because I think he might need to see a therapist for his depression," she replied.

"See a what?" Ginny asked.

"A therapist is someone a person can go to and talk about their issues. They're…healers for the mind," Hermione said quietly. Ginny nodded.

"Oh, why didn't you just say Mind Healer," she responded. Hermione looked at her quizzically.

"They actually have Mind Healers? That's what they're called?" she asked.

"Yeah, you mean you didn't know about them?" asked Ron. Harry walked along listening to their conversation holding Ginny's hand. He had never heard of Mind Healers before either.

"Well, no, I didn't know about them. Are there a lot of them?" Hermione questioned them.

"Kind of. They have to go through even more training than a regular Healer, so most people who choose Healing don't go the extra two years to become Mind Healers. So the ones that are out there are expensive, and only the most mental people go to them," Ron replied matter-of-factly. They wandered closer to the spot they were going to use to go to Diagon Alley when Ginny stopped them.

"Harry, are you sure you want to go deal with George today also? You had a hard time with Denis," she said quietly.

"Yeah, I need to be there for George, even more than Denis. George is like my brother, Denis is just a friend. What Denis said just came as a shock to me. Since the dream, I've pretty much stopped thinking of Colin's death and the others as my fault, for the most part at least. Hearing Denis say that, was just a shock to my psyche I guess. Plus, if you three show up to help George, and I'm not there, he could see it as weakness. And right now, weakness is something I can't afford when it comes to making George see that the shop is still important. So what are we waiting for?" Harry started walking again and the others followed him.

Soon they were walking down Diagon Alley towards the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. They arrived in front of the shop and Harry unlocked the front door. Earlier that day he had encouraged the door to know his signature and he could finally unlock it from the outside. He walked them through the store to the back stairs and walked up them.

He knocked on the door and waited for a signal to enter but heard nothing. He shared a glance with Ron and he unlocked the door magically but found couldn't open it. He told the girls to move down a few steps and Ron moved forward, together they shouldered the door a few times and knocked it open. A loud thud was heard from the inside of the room and Harry pushed the freed door open and saw a chair lying in the middle of the floor.

"What the bloody hell?" Harry heard George swear from the back rooms. A drunken George, clad only in boxers with beater bats and bludgers on them, stumbled to the living room and saw Harry and Ron poking their heads in the door. "What the hell? Why can't you two just leave me be? Go home, and leave me alone," George shouted.

"George Fredrik Weasley, you leave them alone. They are only trying to help you, and you are not helping them in the least. You should be ashamed of yourself!" Ginny shouted up the stairs as she pushed Harry and Ron aside to enter the room. Harry and Ron shared a smirk as they saw George pale slightly and cover himself.

"Ginny, what're you doing 'ere?" George slurred.

"Harry and Ron didn't want to enlighten mum and dad to your little pity party, so I made them bring me and Hermione with them tonight. I knew that if you wouldn't listen to them, I could make you listen to me. And I have no qualms about telling mum about your drinking the day away and planning on giving up the shop. I'd like to see you get out from under her wrath." Ginny smirked as she saw George pale even more. Clearly, threatening him with an angry Mrs. Weasley was the way to get him to behave still.

"Now, go get dressed, Harry needs to talk business with you before dinner," Ginny said as she pointed to the back room. George scampered back and they heard his door shut.

"Ron, Harry, quickly, you need to search the flat for bottles of liquor. Hermione, come with me to the desk and help me find paperwork." Ginny directed them all and they jumped to attention.

Harry and Ron found no more than fifteen bottles of Firewhiskey, five bottles of Muggle Vodka, and three bottles of Muggle Rum around the flat. Ron double checked the toilet tank, and Harry double checked the fake books they'd discovered cleaning the day before.

Ginny and Hermione were searching through the desks and piles of paperwork for documents and wages information. All the paperwork Harry would need for him to hire a few workers. Since he'd planned on having the others start working the next day, he needed all the paperwork filled out later that night, ready to send in to Gringotts the next morning.

Ten minutes after they'd arrived George stumbled out of his room, dressed in sweat pants and a gray exercise beater.

"It took you ten minutes to put on that?" Ron asked cynically.

"You burst into my flat and make demands this is all you get. Now, what did you so graciously demand? Mr. Potter wanted to speak business, did he? What, he suddenly doesn't know what to do, so he's already come running to me for help? Surprise, surprise," George said mockingly.

"Actually, I've already, hired five people to clean the place up and start making new product. The way it looks the shop should be ready to reopen in almost two weeks. I just needed some paperwork from you, so I can officially hire them. I also need recipes and directions for making product and your sales books and numbers. My new manager knows the deal and shouldn't have any problems, since she's worked here before. I just don't know where you keep it all here, or I'd have just gotten it myself," Harry said sardonically. George stared at him.

"You already hired five people? Who? Are they decent enough people that they won't steal from the till? Do I know them? Who'd you hire that worked here before?" George demanded. Harry smirked.

"I'm sorry, but I thought you didn't want anything to do with the shop right now?" Harry asked derisively. George glared at him.

"Fine you don't want to tell me, Potter. I have no idea where that paperwork you want is," George replied innocently. Harry raised his eyes.

"You want to play this game then? Fine. I'll tell you who I hired, if you tell me where _all_ the paperwork is, you go first," said Harry.

"How do I know you'll tell me after I tell you?" George asked skeptically.

"I'll swear a Wizard's Oath if I must to gain your trust, but I'll have to ensure that you are telling the truth before I tell my part. So, do I have your word that you'll tell me where the paperwork is? I'll check for it, and if I have it in my hands, all of it, I'll tell you all five people I hired, deal?" George stared at Harry before he shook his hand. George got up, and walked to the back room, a few minutes later he returned holding several notebooks.

"These are the recipes and directions. The other paperwork you want, numbers and sales receipts, are all under the counter downstairs in the safe, combination, 5-23-17," George said quickly as he threw the books at Harry's lap. Harry checked them quickly, and seeing the correct items, stood up.

"I'll be right back." He left the room and went downstairs holding the notebooks. He returned several minutes later, holding several files and the notebooks.

"I hired Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, Lee Jordan, Katie Bell, and Verity Venoux. I'm waiting for a reply from Oliver Wood to see if he'll work on the weekends if he's not busy. Angelina and Katie are both going to learn to manage the shop from Verity since she can't stay for longer than a month. Verity will be starting tomorrow, along with Angelina, Lee, and Katie. Alicia will be coming everyday afterwards. That should answer your questions, I have to leave now. Ginny, Hermione, Ron will you be joining me?"

The others stood up and walked to the door. Harry stopped and looked back.

"George, whenever you decide to start working again, you are welcome. I don't want to do this anymore than you want me too. But I am looking out for my interests in this shop, I won't let it go under for two reasons. First and foremost, Fred wouldn't have wanted your guys' dream to go under after all your hard work to get it established, and two, I put forth the money for you to start this. It was a lot of money, and I don't want it to go to waste. Whenever you decide you want to take over again, feel free too. It's your shop, I'm just keeping it warm for you." Harry led the way out the door leaving Ginny and Hermione to give George a tight hug, and Ron to nod his goodbye.

George sat in silence thinking about what Harry had said for a long time. _It's your shop, I'm just keeping it warm for you.

* * *

_

Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione all arrived at the Burrow for dinner after leaving the shop. They were welcomed by Mrs. Weasley and Mrs. Granger who were busy cooking up a storm. Since it was the last night the four would be sleeping in the country the mum's wanted to make a feast for them. Mr. Weasley and Mr. Granger were busy in the sitting room talking about the Wireless versus Muggle Radio so the teens decided to congregate in Ron's room, as far away from the adults as they could get, to discuss George and Denis.

Harry sighed as he sat on the cot he called his own. Ginny sat next to him and rested her head on his shoulder. Ron and Hermione sat likewise on Ron's bed across from them.

Harry pulled the pile of papers and notebooks out of his satchel and began to look over them. He saw the recipes for certain Skiving Snackboxes, fake wands, and more recently a recipe for something called InsomniMints. Also in the papers were records of sales for each month, which candy did best in which months, and possible ideas for the future. He particularly disliked the Harry Potter candies which turned the eater into a replica of himself. Along with those were Dumbledore Drops, Merlin Menthols, Snape Snickers, and McGonagall Gummies. The last two made Harry smile faintly. The Harry Potter Pops he hated, but if would be funny to see a group of midget sized Professors running around Hogwarts. Unfortunately, the treats hadn't been perfected yet, and a reminder at the bottom noted that Polyjuice might me needed. He knew there was no way on Merlin's green earth that he was giving his hair up for a candy, or how they'd be able to do Merlin, Snape or Dumbledore's candies.

Ginny turned to read what made Harry scowl so deeply and read the notes on the candies and started to laugh. Ron and Hermione became curious as to what was on the paper so they jumped off the bed and crowded around Harry to read also. Ron snorted loudly and Hermione giggled. Harry shoved them away mumbling to himself.

"Can't believe them, surprised they would even think of something like this," he muttered, gaining more laughs from his friends.

"Oh lighten up Harry, you're going to have to get used to people wanting to look like you, want your autograph, and want your Chocolate Frog card…" Ron burst out laughing at the look of horror on Harry's face at the frog card comment.

"As Merlin as my witness, the day my face is put on a Chocolate Frog card is the day I renounce the wizarding world and move to Siberia to live as a hermit," Harry yelped. The others burst out laughing even more which made Harry chuckle. Even he knew that idea was ridiculous.

"What other things are in there, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Well, you saw the Harry things, then there's Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape and Merlin ones also. There's quite a few pages on something called InsomniMints," Harry handed the notebook to her. She went into Knowledge Mode, as they had begun to call it, and read over the notes.

"Well, since she's lost to us now for a while, why don't we talk about George and Denis, like we planned," Ron said. Hermione, without looking up, reached over to smack him on the arm playfully.

"Just because I'm reading something doesn't mean I can't hear you," she replied in a sing-song voice. Ginny snorted and shook her head.

"Seriously guys, we need to talk about George and Denis. Both of them are acting completely uncharacteristic, Denis was down right mean to you, Harry. The things he said to you, if he wasn't a friend I'd have cursed him right then and there. And George…I've never seen him act like that today, like he was totally indifferent to you, yet at the same time like he…well, like he hated you. At first I didn't want to believe what you had said about how you two found him yesterday but the way he acted today, I wouldn't be surprised anymore. It almost makes me want to put off going to America," Ginny said sadly. Harry softly nodded his head.

"Yeah, I was thinking of putting it off too, but I really don't want to have to do that. I just want to get it over with so I don't have to deal with them again. I think if we talk to Percy and maybe even Bill tonight they can watch over George for us, while we're gone. Besides, Angelina, Verity, Lee, and Katie will be there almost every day that we're gone. I can ask them to check on him in the morning and before they leave at night. I might even be able to talk Lee into staying there with him, possibly." Harry looked at Ginny and Ron. "If you two want to stay here, Hermione and I can go to America. Or even just myself. I don't mind going by myself."

Outbursts came from all three directions. From Ginny he heard, 'Not leaving me behind again', from Ron and Hermione he heard, 'Always be there with you.' Harry sighed.

"Look you guys, your brother is having a really hard time. I would understand if you wanted to stay at home. I'm not saying I'm leaving you behind, Gin, just that I would understand if you wanted to stay," he muttered. Ginny and Ron looked sorry for their outbursts, and Hermione looked confused.

"Harry, when we went to Privet drive to clean, you were barely in the front door when you threw the telly across the room. As much as you think you can, you can't handle the Dursley's by yourself. We are coming with you, despite George having problems, there are enough people here who can help him while we're gone. Like you said, you just want to get this over and done with, so lets get it over and done with together," Hermione said firmly, while Ron and Ginny nodded their affirmations.

Harry's eyes shone as he smiled softly. _What did I do to deserve these friends?_ Harry thought to himself.

"Okay, so you guys are coming with me. That's decided. Now, what about tomorrow, getting everyone settled at the shop. I'm going to talk to Bill tonight about getting money to Verity, but what else do I need to do?"

They sat and talked for an hour until the heard the dinner call from the mum's. They headed down to find the two sets of adults, Bill and Fleur, and Percy and Penelope Clearwater seated around the table. It was a tight fit with three extra people, but they managed quite well. Dinner talk remained soft and light hearted, yet slightly strained. Charlie had returned to Romania, so his absence was normal, but George had told his mother over a Floo call that he was staying in that night and not to expect him.

This worried the teens and Ginny was ready to run over and make sure her brother wasn't drinking himself into oblivion again as soon as she's heard the announcement, but Harry held her back and calmed her down. Her mum was already worried after seeing her lethargic son the night before with sunken, bloodshot eyes, and pale, clammy skin. She didn't need to be more worried than she was, and her daughter panicking and running to the shop at eight in the evening would definitely set her over the edge. Harry assured her that he'd pop over later to make sure he was okay, this calmed her down enough so she'd be able to eat her dinner.

After dinner the large group gathered in the sitting room. Harry made eye contact with Ron who nodded. They'd agreed that each of them would get the attention of an older brother and get the two outside to talk. Ron approached Bill, and whispered something to him. Bill looked at him and nodded then turned to his wife and chuckled at something she had said.

Ron looked at Harry and gave a very brief nod. Harry turned and saw Percy wandering to the kitchen. He took note of Ginny distracting her mum and the other parents and Hermione distracting Penelope and Fleur so Harry, Ron and Bill all got up and followed Percy into the kitchen.

"Ahem, Percy, could you join us for a moment outside?" Harry muttered as they walked through the kitchen. Percy saw the discreetness about the way they were leaving so he followed without a word.

The four men arrived by the large tree that had a homemade tire swing on it and faced each other.

"We need to talk to you two about George," Harry began. Percy started to stutter.

"Look, I didn't know that taking the job from Kingsley was going to cause so many problems. George was acting just fine when I—"

"Percy, this isn't really about you. I believe you when you say you didn't know what would happen, but the reality is this, when Ron and I went over there yesterday, I had to check George for a pulse." Bill and Percy both gasped at Harry's revelation.

"Did he try to…you know, again?" Bill asked quietly.

"No, at least not that I think so. He was so drunk he'd passed out on Fred's bed, but not before he completely trashed the place. Everything in the whole flat was broken, ripped, or smashed. It took us a good three hours to clean it up after we made sure he was still alive and cleaned up the vomit.

"When we woke him up with a sobriety spell, he lashed out at us, and then went into the bathroom and pulled a bottle of Firewhiskey out of the tank in the toilet and started to get drunk again behind the closed door." Ron looked at Harry. Bill and Percy exchanged horrified looks.

"Harry told George that he was taking over the shop since he owns half of it, and there wasn't anything George could do about it, he was right angry about it at first then he kind of gave up. He told Harry to do what he wanted with it, he didn't care about the shop anymore," Ron watched his brothers faces when they took in what he'd said.

Bill looked pensive and worried. Percy looked physically ill.

"Three days, that's all. I left him alone for three days…" Percy was muttering. Bill stared at the Burrow contemplating the whole situation.

"So the reason you wanted to talk to us was so that while you four are gone, there's someone to check up on George, right?" he asked. Percy looked from his older brother to his younger.

"That's exactly why we're telling you guys this. If Charlie were here we'd talk to him too. We didn't want to tell mum and dad about this, unless we need too. Mum's taking Fred's death hard enough, and Dad…he hides it well, but he's hurting just as bad. What George needs right now isn't mollycoddling, he needs a firm guiding hand. He needs people to tell it to him straight and not cushion things for him. Harry's taken over the shop so that it doesn't go down hill, it's our job as his brothers to make sure he doesn't become an alcoholic and dead beat," Ron finished his speech and Bill and Percy nodded their heads.

"We can make up a schedule so that one of us can check up on him in the morning and night…" Bill started.

"Actually, if your schedule wasn't obvious to him, morning and night, he'd be more inclined to try and be sober all the time so that if you happened to pop over, he wouldn't be smashed. Also, I've hired several people who are starting work tomorrow, getting the place cleaned up and new product ready and such. They will be there all day, five days a week, so really you guys would only have to check in on him randomly during the week, and mostly this weekend while we're gone.

"Percy," Harry looked to the older man. "We discussed it and we don't think you should quit your job. Kingsley needs all the Light people he can on his side in the Ministry, and you are definitely a guy who will help out in a positive way.

"Bill, I have a lady named Verity Venoux working at the shop. If she contacts you, I need you to get gold for her from my vault. She helped run the shop before, and she's going to be training in Angelina Johnson and Katie Bell as the newer managers. Lee Jordan, and Alicia Spinnet are also on the payroll. I haven't heard from Oliver Wood yet, but I only sent the owl to him earlier today, so he is also a possible worker. Okay?" Harry asked.

Bill nodded his head. "So I would need to go to Gringotts to get gold for Verity. That's all?" Harry nodded.

"Another thing, guys…" Bill started. "I think we should tell Dad about George. He deserves to know, and if we do end up needing help, it'll be less of a shock for him. If you want I can talk to him later tonight, or tomorrow?" Bill said. Harry and Ron shared a glance and then turned back to Bill and nodded.

Bill said he would do that, and he and Percy agreed to meet the next day during their lunch break to plan a schedule of sorts. When they were done talking the four went inside.

"Where have you boys been? One minute you're all sitting here and the next you're all missing!" Molly Weasley shouted. The boys explained that they wanted some fresh air, so they'd just gone outside. Molly calmed down and stopped yelling enough to serve desert to everyone.

Soon after desert was done, Hermione and Ron brought the Grangers back to Grimmauld Place and Mrs. and Mr. Weasley said their goodnights. Ginny went with Hermione and Ron while Harry popped over to the shop alone.

He wandered up the stairs quietly and reached for the door handle. He quietly opened the door and peeked in. Quiet music was playing and he saw George sitting at the desk scribbling away on a long piece of parchment. Harry was just about to close the door and knock when George looked up at the painting of him and his twin.

"I'm not going to let you down Fred. This shop is ours and if Harry thinks he's going to outsmart me, he's in for a big pranking surprise. He's right though, it was our dream, and it's not right of me to let it die. You've got my word as a Prankster, I will reclaim our shop," he said vehemently before going back to scribbling on the parchment.

Harry smiled and thought, _Finally._ He closed the door and decided that George was going to be okay tonight. He could go home and go to sleep.

* * *

A/N: Yay! George is recovering!!! This chapter gives me the warm tingle's! So, 3 A's, a B, and an F (in math). That's how my semester ended! I knew I was getting the F since February since I quit the class but couldn't drop it, so I took the F and boosted all my other grades. I'm so happy! Now all I have during the day to keep myself busy is Sims, photographing ALL of my art and documenting it, playing with my new potter's wheel and kiln, and Writing Summer After! Review and make me happy, please!


	24. Harry and Friends Meet the Band

Disclaimer: I may have taken awhile, but no I don't own it still.

A/N: Thanks for not giving up on me!

* * *

**Harry and Friends Meet the Band**

The next morning Harry woke up early again, and walked down to the kitchen. He stopped when he heard voices. He walked into the kitchen to see Hermione and Ginny talking with Mrs. Granger.

"So, where do we need to visit?" Hermione asked. He saw that she was still in pajamas and sleepy eyed, so she must have only just gotten up also. Ginny was half asleep at the table with a steaming cup of tea in front of her, staring at the table top, her mouth slightly open. Harry chuckled. She was so not a morning person.

"Well, Mary is my cousin on my mothers side, so your second cousin. I remember that she went to a special school in Chicago, now what was it called? Oh, the Art Institutes of Chicago for media design or something. I think you'd like her, it's been—good morning Harry—years since I've seen her though. I don't think you've ever met her," Mrs. Granger said as she placed a large plate of food in front of each teenager. Harry had poured himself a cup of tea, and refilled Ginny's without her notice.

As he tucked in to his scrambled eggs and kippers, he listened to the girls conversation.

"So, where does Mary live?" asked Hermione.

"Western Wisconsin I believe. I have her telephone number in my address book upstairs." The conversations went on for several more minutes until Ron and Mr. Granger stumbled into the kitchen carried by the smell of bacon, eggs, and kippers.

After breakfast Harry and the teens headed to the shop to open up. When they got there and unlocked the front door, they wandered in and began cleaning. Harry sat at the counter logging what product they should start making first and how many would be needed and what ingredients would be required.

Verity showed up and helped him out. As soon as the others showed up, Harry had several lists ready, and the product room was cleaned out and ready for the few people who would start cooking up the potions and making the actual product.

Verity assigned Lee and Katie to that while she and Angelina worked on calculating how much the rest of the ingredients would cost. Once they were done with that, Harry and Ron were sent off to the Apothecary and the Cauldron shop to get a couple of self-stirring cauldrons.

Verity and Angelina argued that they could very well stir the cauldrons themselves, he didn't need to spend the extra money on special feature cauldrons. He argued that if they were doing several potions at once, they might need the extra help, so they relented. Besides, he had argued, he would get paid back in profit all the money he spent anyways, so what was the big deal? Takes money to make money.

Harry made a side trip to the Post office to send the required documents to Gringotts for his newly hired employees to begin being paid.

When Ron and Harry got back from the quick shopping trip they decided to make a quick run to Privet Drive to double check the cleanliness of the place, and then they all decided to spend the rest of the afternoon looking for the portrait of Remus and Tonks.

After lunch, they searched some more and finally Ron found the portrait on the ceiling of Buckbeak's old room. It wasn't activated yet and the piece of parchment on the back said it required a professional to activate the personality spells on it so Harry decided that they would have that done after they got back from America.

* * *

At half past four in the afternoon Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and Ron gathered in the living room at Grimmauld Place and listened to the lectures of what not to do, how to act in another country, and so on.

"Now, Harry, I know your relatives aren't the nicest, but I want you to behave. The last time you saw them, they were running for their lives, and you were leaving for a battle of a lifetime. I know I can trust you to behave." Mrs. Weasley gave a few more warnings before she sat down and Mr. Weasley stood up.

"Now, the time difference for this trip total is roughly five hours. First, you'll arrive in a small room in the Federal building in Washington, D.C. A man there will confirm who you are and ask you where you are headed. All you need to say is Minnesota. He'll hand you a new portkey. This one is a disposable one, keep track of which portkey is which, when you arrive in the next place you can throw it away.

"From D.C. you'll arrive in a place called Station 4. I'm assuming it's a train station, so you'll need to find the person who will be meeting you there. He'll have a packet of paperwork you'll need to look over. It will tell you your family's location, how to get there, and any other instructions Dedalus Diggle left. From there I'm not sure what you'll have to do, since it's up to what Dedalus says.

"This is all I know about where they are. I believe that they have been living with a younger family of Wizards and Witches for the last year. I'm sure that they will be exited to leave and go back home. The Portkey leaves exactly one week from arrival in D.C. So be ready. Hermione, are you going to be the one who holds onto this, again?" asked Mr. Weasley as he held out a rusty pliers. Hermione nodded as she held out her hand. She took hold of it and set it in her lap.

The four of them had a few bags settled next to them ready to be picked up when they'd be needed. There was only about ten minutes left before they were to depart so everyone started to say their goodbyes.

Hermione tearfully hugged her parents and said her farewells while Ginny and Ron were hugged by their mum. Harry stood back until she was done and she stepped towards him and reached out to hug him also.

"Harry, I want you to take care. Arthur and I love you like one of our own, and I want you to come back here and be happy when this is all done. You deserve it more than anyone. Be good now," she whispered as she relented him from her arms. He smiled at her.

"I'll be back Mrs. Weasley. A stampeding herd of thestrals couldn't keep me away," he said back.

He turned around to see Hermione watching her wrist watch and holding the old pair of pliers in her hand. Ron had both their bags ready and held out Harry's to him. He took it just as Hermione held out the pliers for everyone to touch. They placed a finger on the tool and nodded goodbye one more time before the tell-tale tug at their navels pulled them several thousand miles from home.

They landed with a thud, Harry and Ron falling to the floor in a heap.

As Hermione and Ginny helped the boys to their feet a bored looking man asked them a question.

"You're the Weasley party?"

"Yeah," replied Ron.

"The location you are heading too?" the man asked after a sigh. He hardly looked up from the book he was reading.

"Er, Minnesota," Ron said looking at Hermione to be sure.

"Here's your portkey, enjoy your stay in America," the man said quickly as he handed them an old men's boot. Ron took it and held it out while they all touched it. A second round of the navel tug, and they found themselves in a large black room. It looked like a dingy, back alley club or party room.

The walls were patchy and plaster was falling off in certain places, showing the cement and brick walls underneath. The floors were dirty cement and a black stage covered the entire back wall. Several small tables littered the room, and a gaping windowless window was looking down into the dance area from the room from upstairs though from where the foursome stood they could only see the ceiling.

They found a staircase leading upstairs and followed it.

"I thought we were going to a train Station?" Ginny said when they arrived in a pub. From the looks of it, it wasn't open yet. Above the bar was a large sign that read Station 4.

"Maybe your dad had it wrong," Harry said in return. "Is there anyone here?" he called.

"Yeah?" a man stuck his head out of an office across the room. "Bar's closed. You one of the bands for tonight?"

"Er, no. We're not a band" said Ron with a confused look. The man saw the old boot still in Ron's hand and a look of comprehension dawned on his face.

"Ah! Sorry 'bout that, you're the Weasley group?" He saw their nods and looked back into the office. "Yep, right on time. Sorry, I was really focused in there." He left the office and walked towards them. "My name's John, I run this club, but I'm also a government stooge on the side. They send me details on visitors and I send them on their way from here." He shook each of their hands while he spoke.

"Follow me," said John as he turned. He led them down a hallway past the bathrooms and into a room that he spelled open. They saw a comfy lounge area complete with a large fireplace.

"Here's the packet I'm supposed to give you. It contains all the rules and regulations of staying in Minnesota. Basically, don't expose us or do anything illegal and you should be good. Everything you need to know is in that envelope. I gotta be getting back to work, if you need anything, holler, I'll hear you. Take as long as you need to read through everything before you leave. If you feel like having a good time, this club gets going at about nine every night. Music starts at eight tonight. If you don't need me, then I'll say good bye now. Have a good time in Minnesota." John turned and left the room quickly.

Harry shrugged and sat down on a flat but comfy looking chair and pulled the envelope open. The others sat down also and waited for Harry to start reading.

He pulled out two more envelopes and several forms and documents. He set those aside for later after he saw a letter addressed to him clipped to the smaller envelope. He read it out loud.

"'_Harry, The two letters here were the information letters prepared to be sent to your uncle. I asked John to slip this in the packet he was supposed to give you. It's up to you to send the correct letter, obviously the one of your defeat of Voldemort, to your uncle via owl post. Wait two days before going to get them and bringing them home._

_Sorry for the inconvenience, you'll have to stay at a hotel for a couple days. Enjoy Minnesota, the Muggles have some amazing entertainment. Hestia.'_"

"So this letter from Hestia is attached to the letter you need to send to your uncle? What does that one say?" asked Ginny.

"Lets see…'_Dear Mr. Dursley, I am please to inform you that the war is over! Harry Potter and the resistance have defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his Death Eaters. Your stay in America is coming to a close. Once all the residual danger has past, someone will come to bring you home to Surrey. _

"_This letter is an advance warning for you to get ready to leave; pack your things, quit your jobs, un-enroll your son in school, say your goodbyes, etc. Best wishes, Dedalus Diggle_,'" read Harry aloud.

The others thought pensively for a few moments.

"Wait," began Hermione. "Didn't Hestia say something about two letters? What's the other one say?"

"Er, well," Harry shuffled the papers in his lap until he found another envelope, this one slightly heavier than the other one. "This is it. '_Dear Mr. Dursley, I regret to inform you that Harry Potter has died in his attempt to rid the world of the evil of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Even as I write this, I know of your distaste for your nephews world, but it is imperative for you to understand the gravity of the situation. Harry Potter was the worlds only chance for peace from this evil man's tyranny. Our only hope has died.'"_ Harry paused with wide eyes and looked around. The others were just as stunned as he was and Ron waved at him to continue.

"'_Where does that leave us? Well, I will be heading back to London to help fight. The resistance will need all the help it can get. _

"_You and your family, however, will no longer be able to return to Surrey. It would be too dangerous, though you are welcome to try if you feel you must. Though know this, no witch or wizard will accompany you, and you will not be protected if you return.'"_ Harry paused and let loose a snort. The others looked at him quizzically.

"I can just imagine Uncle Vernon's face if he had read this. He'd be torn between jumping for joy at my death and enraged at the fact that he couldn't return to his house. I remember last year trying to convince him to leave, he kept changing his mind thinking it was all a ploy to get the house from him. This would have been awesome to see his face when he would have read this," Harry laughed.

"Harry, knock it off, finish reading it!" Ginny poked him in the ribs causing him to jump a little.

"Okay, okay. Ahem, '_Since both you and your wife both have been working,_' What? Aunt Petunia? Working? I'd like to see that."

"Harry!" they shouted at him.

"Yeah, yeah. '_Since both you and your wife have been working, you should be able to live a fairly safe life. We've set you up with proper Identification papers and documents to make you citizens of the United States, if you so chose to stay._

"_It is recommended that you stay in contact with a magical family so that you can get news of the war. If He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named isn't stopped by the resistance He will eventually move to conquer the rest of Europe and then move across the pond to America. If you stay in contact with a wizarding family you will know in advance what is happening._

_The rest of the forms and documents provided with this letter only need to be signed by you, your wife, and son to be legal. Otherwise they are ready for use. Sorry for you loss, Dedalus Diggle.'_" Harry snorted in contempt.

"Yeah, such a big loss I was. Vernon was so happy to see me gone he practically smiled at me before leaving." Harry shoved the letter roughly back into the envelope causing all the papers to collapse to the floor. Ginny set her hand on his arm and he calmed down enough to look up at her. He half smiled at her.

"Sorry, got a little irritated there," he mumbled.

"It's all right Harry, no one expects you to be happy about this whole thing. We just need to get them, and bring them home to Surrey, then you never have to see them again. That is, unless Dudley has a magical child, wouldn't that be justice," Ginny said with a giggle. Suddenly Harry perked up his eyes wide and a smile on his lips.

"I would pay a fortune to see that happen, justice is right," he said with a chuckle.

"Harry what else was in that envelope?" Hermione asked quietly. He pulled the pile of papers back onto his lap and set aside the contents of the envelope of his death. Obviously that one was trash now. He pulled Hestia's note forward and noticed another piece of paper in the bottom of the envelope. Pulling it out he saw his own name at the top. He read it to the others out loud again.

"'_Dear Harry, I am the Secret Keeper for your family's location. Your family is located at 734 Perry Lane Middleton, Minnesota. The Floo will only work to bring you to Middleton. Precautions put forward do not allow travel directly into refugees homes. But the Floo will only allow you and your three friends. State firmly into the Floo, Middleton Magics and you'll arrive in a small shop. From there you will walk to your family's home. Any local can give directions to Perry Lane._

"_Harry, I know you don't like praise rained down on you, so I'll leave it at this. I don't know how to thank you enough. You are the bravest man I know. Thank you and I hope we meet again someday. Dedalus_,'" Harry finished quietly.

The others let Harry think for several minutes without saying anything. Dedalus' note had affected Harry in a way that no others had. Here was a man who had agreed to take Vernon Dursley into hiding, and didn't break a sweat about it calling Harry brave. The irony wasn't lost on Harry. Ron, muttering about being thirsty, broke Harry out of his reverie.

He began looking through the rest of the paperwork and took note of several documents with the Dursley's photographs on them, Driver's License's, Passports, Visa's, and then Birth Certificates and Citizen documentation's for all three. All of them had different names and birth dates on them. He laughed loudly when he saw that Dudley's name would have been Harold.

"Looks like we're going to need an owl," Ron said.

"Yeah, I wonder if John could tell us how to get to a Post office and a hotel," Harry said. No sooner were the words out of his mouth then John was walking through the door carrying a tray of drinks. Ron's eyes lit up.

"I heard someone say they were thirsty so I brought a few drinks, on the house. Did I hear you say you needed and owl? I got one you could use. Sylvester!" he called over his shoulder. A large black and white spotted owl flew into the room a few seconds later after drinks had been passed around.

"What do you mean you heard someone ask for a drink? All I did was say I was thirsty and I said it really quietly," Ron pondered. John laughed.

"I have a spell on this room to let me know if the Floo is used, or if someone needs me I hear them ask for something or my name being said. It's convenient since this is the only magical entrance in nine square blocks with an open Floo," the older man stated. He handed the owl to Harry as he spoke.

"Er, thanks for letting us borrow him. He's just going to Middleton, Minnesota and back to drop off a letter to let my relatives know someone's coming to get them soon. Then we also need to get to a hotel. Muggle or Magical it doesn't really matter," Harry said as he tied the correct letter to Sylvester's leg. Once the letter was tied on firmly the owl took off clipping John's head with its wings.

"Well, a hotel, hmm. I guess for a bunch a teens the Marriott or Hilton isn't necessary. A Days Inn would suffice I think. There aren't many magical hotels around here. Most of the magical folk in the U.S. can blend in with the non-magic folk pretty well so there isn't much call for magical hotels or many shopping centers. Only the most magical things like Owl Posts, Apothecaries, Wand shops, and the like are hidden.

"Minnesota's a fairly large state, not too large and not too small, so we have two magical areas. One is here near the Twin Cities and the other is up near Duluth called the Duluth District for Magic. You'll be wanting the Wabasha Wizarding Caves, here in the Cities, it's also the larger of the two," John stated. He stood up and walked to a bookcase and pulled down a large yellow phone book and flipped to the center.

"Here ya go, Holiday Inn. Here's the phone number and a phone. I'll let you make the reservations. I gotta check on some stuff up front and I think my band just arrived. See ya," John left the room in a trot ad shut the door behind him.

Harry looked at Hermione and smiled a pleading smile. She didn't know what he was doing until he glanced at the phone book.

"Do I have to do everything Muggle around here?" she asked in a huff as she pulled the hefty book towards her. He smiled sheepishly and handed her the phone.

"Thanks, Hermione. It's been years since I used a telephone," he replied as she dialed the number. She shook her head in exasperation.

"Hello?…My name's Hermione Granger, I'll be needing a room for two nights…Two beds…No…Er, cash?…Uh huh…Okay…" She pulled the phone away from her ear and covered the mouthpiece. "Harry, since we don't have a credit card, it'll cost us upfront, for both nights and a security deposit we'll get back after we check out. All right?" He nodded and she went back to the phone.

"Yeah that's alright…. Mhmm… No problem…Yes…Yes…No…Yeah that's fine…Um, four of us…Oldest? 20…" She listened for several moments nodding to herself. "Okay, that sounds great…$400? Okay…Yep…What time is check in?… Okay we'll be there in a little bit. Thanks!" She hung up the phone and turned and saw the three staring at her.

"Well, the room for two nights for four people is $200, but the extra $200 is for the damage deposit. We'll get that back when we leave, it's just so that if we damage anything, or use the Pay Per View they still get their money. Oh, and Harry, you're going to have to create a fake Driver's license for yourself as a twenty year old so we have a legal adult in the room. I figured you could use one of the Dursley ones, just change the picture and date of birth on it." Harry stared at her while she rambled on.

Soon the four were ready to leave. They had decided to take a taxi to the hotel, and then later to the Wabasha Caves for a visit. So they left the room and wandered out to the front to wait for the taxi to get there.

As they wandered up to the front of the club they heard a loud boom and clatter of metal and they all ran forward. As they rounded the corner they heard yelling.

"What the hell, Monster? If that drum is damaged, I swear to _Jeebus_ your gonna get you ass kicked!" shouted someone from the stage.

"It's fine Jason, jeez! Keep your pants on," shouted someone next to the pile of drum at the bottom of the stairs. Harry and Ron shared a glance and wandered towards the stairs, the girls followed.

At the bottom of the stairs was the weirdest looking person they had ever seen. His hair was every color of the rainbow and spiked out like he'd been struck by lightening. He was wearing very tight, form-fitting red pants, two black studded belts, neither for the purpose of holding up his pants, and black army boots. A black shirt that said Rancid on it was partially covered by a black vest, which had silver studs covering the entire area over the shoulders to a third of the way down the back. Patches and safety pins covered any area that didn't have studs on it.

The man's face was the most peculiar. He had a ring coming from the inside and center of his nose, and two piercings on each side of his bottom lip. They wondered if this was the man called Monster, the name was very fitting.

He was bending over a pile of red metal drums, pulling parts out at random shaking his head.

As Harry and the others were coming down the stairs, another boy came from the stage at a trot.

"Well, what's the damage look like?" he asked. The pierced guy stood and held out a metal rod.

"I think the only part that's even slightly broke is this rod, and it's not bad. Should last the night, and we can fix it tomorrow at Jason's house. Hey," he said when he noticed Harry and the gang.

"Hello," Harry said. The others nodded to the men.

"Who are you guys? The headliners?" asked the guy they assumed was named Monster.

"No, we're just visiting John. We're actually just waiting for our taxi to get here, and thought we'd come down and see what's going on," replied Harry as he stepped forward. "I'm Harry, this is Ron, Ginny, and Hermione." He shook the men's hands as a few more band members wandered over.

"Cool, I'm Monster, this is Kyle, Jason, Mason, and Jeremy. And that loser over there is Harley, the band's big sister, and our photographer." A woman was wandering over with a fairly expensive looking camera.

"Jeez, thanks Monster, I can just feel the love," she replied sarcastically. She shook hands with Harry and his friends. "He calls me the band's big sister, but really I only own one of them. I'm the responsible _adult_ today," she said while making finger quotes when she said adult.

"You guys got anything to do tonight? You should come to our show," said Jason. "Tickets are only seven bucks presale. It's going to be awesome."

Harry looked at the others and they shrugged.

"Okay, why not. When does it start?" he asked. The band members faces all lit up.

"Really? Wow, I didn't think that would work. Doors open at seven tonight, you want to buy your tickets right now?" Jason asked quickly. Harry agreed and he followed him to the stage and bought four tickets. As soon as he was done paying Jason the money, it had taken a minute since he was unfamiliar with the U.S. currency, Hermione called him saying the taxi was there. Harry turned to leave.

"Our band's name is X-Isle, thanks for buying the tickets!" Jason shouted after him. Harry waved and was out the door.

Ron was helping the driver load the bags into the trunk and the girls were sitting in the back with their purses on their laps waiting. Ron got in back and Harry rode up front with the driver.

Arriving at the hotel was uneventful until Harry realized that he hadn't fixed the ID for his face and fake age. After they had all gotten their luggage out of the taxi, Harry excused himself to the bathroom and waited for it to empty.

He locked the door and did the necessary magic quickly. He marveled at the fake ID he'd just created for a moment before placing it in his wallet and exiting the restroom. He walked up to the desk with Hermione and they signed and paid for the room quickly, and they all walked up to the fifth floor and found their room.

"Well, its two o'clock, what should we do until seven?" Ron asked. Ginny yawned loudly in response.

"Well, I guess that answers that. We should take a nap, jet lag will…tire us out really fast tonight since we didn't take naps in London," Hermione said slowly, pausing to yawn also. She giggled when she noticed Harry and Ron both stifle yawns and fail.

* * *

Four hours later, a restful afternoon was over and the four groggy teens were slowly waking up.

"Well, that was nice," Ron mumbled with his face full of Hermione's hair. Harry chuckled from across the room.

"Ginny, _Ginny_…time to wake up, Gin," he murmured in her ear. She groaned and rolled over. She pulled her arms up over her head and pulled the pillow over her face. This movement caused her shirt to pull up around her waist and expose her stomach. Harry grinned and evil grin at Ron and Hermione, who stifled their giggles. Harry raised his hands and wiggled his fingers before attacking her sides. She burst out laughing and squealing loudly as she twisted and squirmed. Harry was laughing and so were Ron and Hermione across the room.

"Stop, please! I'm awake, I promise! Stop, please, I have to pee!" Ginny squealed. Hermione shook her head and stood up. Harry stopped and let Ginny stand up. As soon as she was upright she ran for the bathroom, pushing Hermione out of the way. They all laughed and started getting ready.

They decided to stop and get fast food on the way to the club, so they dressed and prepared to leave.

"Harry can I see that fake ID of yours?" Hermione asked suddenly. He shrugged and pulled out his wallet.

"May I ask why?" he asked as he handed it to her.

"Sure, do you remember that conversation with Mr. Weasley at Grimmauld Place a couple weeks ago? Drinking age here is different than England. I'm going to make a few more fake ID's just in case for the rest of us. Not to drink," she added at Ron's hopeful look. "It's just in case there's an age limit at the club." Harry nodded and watched her copy the ID's then fix the pictures, names, and birth dates.

She handed them all their respective ID's and it was time to go. They wandered down to the lobby of the hotel and out the doors. They decided to walk to the McDonald's they saw down the street for dinner.

Harry ordered a Big Mac for him and Ron, while Hermione ordered Chicken Nuggets for herself and a Quarter Pounder for Ginny. They sat at the tables and Harry and Hermione chuckled and were amused by Ron and Ginny's first experience with fast food.

Ron swallowed his burger in a few bites then wanted to get another, before Harry pointed out the large fry and drink he had to finish. Ginny ate a few bite of her burger before declaring that she couldn't finish the grease ball and gave the rest to Ron. She ate her fry's and stole half of Harry's before he offered to buy her something else if she was still hungry. When they were finished they headed outside to find a taxi and headed back to Station 4.

When the taxi pulled up to the front of the club, they saw the band sitting out front on the patio furniture. Harry paid for the taxi while the others walked over.

"Hey! You actually showed up. Mason didn't think you would," said Kyle. Mason reached over and punched him in the arm. The dull thud made Ginny and Hermione wince.

"I didn't say that, I just said they probably only bought the tickets cuz they felt bad. Pity tickets," Mason said.

"Why would we do that?" asked Ron.

"'Cuz you didn't want to say no to us and hurt our itty bitty feelings. Happens all the time," replied Jeremy.

"Ha, you guys don't have feelings, herpes maybe, not feelings," said Harley as she wandered out of the club.

"Awe come on, Harley. That wasn't very nice, only Monster has herpes," replied Jason with a smirk. Monster reached over to punch Jason's arm, but Jason shifted at the last moment and he punched the metal table, hard.

"Ow! Son of bitch," he yelled after jumping up from his chair and prancing around shaking his fist.

"Yoink!" Harley said as she sat in his chair.

"Come on!" he said loudly when he noticed his chair had been taken.

"You vacated, and didn't oink your spot so it was free," she said smugly. Harry, Ron, and the girls shared a confused glance.

"Er, did you just say 'didn't _oink_ your spot'?" asked Hermione. Everyone laughed loudly making the Londoners blush.

"Yeah, it's just an expression someone said one day and it stuck. It means he didn't claim the spot as his, so it was up for grabs," Jeremy said with a smile. Monster grumbled under his breath for a moment before smiling. He walked over to the table and climbed up into the surface and sat crossed legged.

"Best spot in the house," he said smugly, with a glance at Harley. Just then a man from inside the club stuck his head outside.

"X-Isle? Your up for sound check in a minute," he said before disappearing inside again.

"Looks like you have to vacate your spot again, Monster," Harley said with a laugh. The guys all laughed and stood up to go inside. Harley stayed sitting and gestured to Harry and his friends to sit.

"Music doesn't start for another half hour. Might as well stay out here, in the fresh air for as long as we can. It gets kinda stuffy in there after a while," she said. Harry and the others nodded awkwardly.

"So," began Ron slowly. "You're a photographer?" he asked.

"Kind of. I'm the only person they know with a decent camera that'll also do this for free," replied Harley. "Plus I get to go to shows for free also, since they buy my ticket in exchange for pictures."

"So they seem like a boisterous bunch," said Ginny with a smirk. Harley laughed hysterically.

"Boisterous is a good way of putting it. I like the term insane, crazy works also. You should see them on the party bus," replied Harley waving her fingers in circles around the sides of her head, mimicking craziness. They all chuckled.

"So, where from England are you guys from, if I may ask?" said Harley.

"London," said Hermione at the same time Ron and Ginny said, "Ottery St. Catchpole." Harry chuckled.

"We're kind of from all over. I was raised in Surrey, but we all went to the same private school in Scotland," he said.

"Harley!" came a shout from behind them. She looked over and smiled while she waved.

"Hey, come on over. The guys are inside doing sound check. This is my sister Jessie, and her fiancé Karson. Guys this is Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione. They met the band earlier today and bought tickets." Introductions made and hands shook. "Do you guys know who else is coming?" Harley asked her sister.

"Well, Mandy might be coming, if she can get off work and a babysitter. I think some of dad's side of the family…" the sisters chatted for a while about who was still coming and who wasn't which gave Harry time to chat with Ron and the girls.

After a few minutes another group of people showed up, and shared greetings to the sisters before heading inside to "Get their drink on." Several more minutes went by while the sisters talked about work and school, before a head poked out the door and shouted that music was starting.

The seven of them stood up and wandered inside. Hermione's plan for the fake ID's was a good one, since they were technically underage they needed the ID's to get in. A tense moment for Hermione passed and they were inside just as the music was starting. Harley wandered off with her huge camera snapping pictures the whole time.

Hermione led the group to a table up front that was empty and had four chairs while Harry wandered to the bar and ordered four soda's. He got to the table just as Kyle introduced the song.

"Well, what a good turnout! We're X-Isle and we are happy to be here tonight! This first song is called The Other Side, enjoy!" he finished as the music started with a keyboard solo of Pachbell's Canon played by Jeremy, soon guitar joined in and then drums.

"Goodbye,  
I really cannot stay  
I wish that I could say  
How much you mean to me.

Goodbye,  
I have to go away.  
I'll be back someday,  
When we can both be free.

Goodbye,  
Until we meet again  
We'll have to wait till then  
When the battle's won.

Goodbye,  
If I could start again  
I'd be with you my friend  
Before our love is changed.

Dear friend,  
They're keeping me too long,  
But my love for you is still strong.  
Though I miss you so-oh.

It's you,  
That I wanna see.  
Will you marry me,  
When I come home?

Now you're walking down the isle  
There's no doubt in your smile.  
Now it's just me and you  
Until you say I do-oo-oo."

The music faded out softly and the applause rang though the building.

"Harry, this was a good idea. I like this music," Hermione said loudly over the music. For a half an hour they listened to several good songs, once they saw others doing it they also got up and danced by the stage with several other people.

An hour after the band started they introduced the last song.

"Well, our time has nearly come to an and we only have one song left. Can you guess which one?" Kyle asked the audience. Several girls in front of the stage, including Harley, screamed Scooby Doo! Hermione burst out laughing while the others looked confused. The band picked up a fast paced beat and all five, plus about fifteen people in the crowd, started singing.

"Scooby Dooby-Doo,  
Where are you?  
We've got some work  
To do now!"

Several beats later the short, funny song ended and the crowds were clapping loudly. The band all stood and bowed before turning and removing their equipment off the stage and helping the next band set up their equipment.

Harry and Ron waved to the girls to follow and they wandered outside for some fresh air.

"That was fun. But it's only eight thirty. I'm not tired after that nap earlier. What should we do?" asked Ron.

"I don't know, we don't really have anything else to do tonight," replied Harry.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude," said Jason from behind them. "I'm having a bonfire at my house if you want to come. It's kind of out in the middle of nowhere, but we have a lot of fun. The whole band will be there plus a bunch of friends. Kyle's bringing a new couch for us to sit on so we're probably going to burn the older one."

"You're going to burn a couch? Why?" asked Ginny.

"Oh, well, we kind of recycle them first. When someone decides to get rid of a couch, they bring it to our field instead of the junkyard. We leave them outside by the fire pit for a few months until their too old and moldy then we toss them onto the fire. Last week someone sat on the older one and got stung by a hornet, so we know there's a nest in there. No one will sit on it now, so it burns tonight whether we get a new one or not. You want to come? We have a party bus going up to our place with a bunch of people," Jason said. He saw their looks of hesitation and chuckled.

"I'll let you think about it. We have to load the bus right now, so that gives you about fifteen minutes to decide. Okay?" he said as he turned and headed back inside.

Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny deliberated for several minutes. Harry and Ron were all for a party. Ginny was neutral, a party sounded fine but it didn't matter if they went or not. Hermione was hesitant only because they didn't know these guys personally and the couch burning part sounded dangerous.

"Awe, Hermione, they said they do it all the time. Besides, we can always just Apparate away if it gets too rowdy," Ginny said convincing the older girl. Harry and Ron wandered inside to find Jason and tell him they'd come.

* * *

A/N: Again, thanks for not giving up on me! Well, I have been working my butt off on this story and I think my writers block might be over. I've been writing outlines like crazy and coming up with a few awesome Brainstorms. Like one I could actually hear the click of the light switch when the light turned on above my head! Tell me what you think of the band, I know them personally (though I changed names for the sake of my sanity) and I was asked to put them in here. It gives something for Harry and co. to do for a night, and my friends get a kick out of it. The band X-Isle is real, the music is copywrited, and they are on Myspace. They've got some good music. And they do play the Scooby-Doo song. The party bus is also real, same with the couch burnings. Tell me what you think cause this was really weird writing this chapter and the next couple. I was seriously thinking about leaving it out but my sister read it and told me I should leave it. If I get bad reviews, I'll re-write it. So please review!


	25. Interlude: Dudley Dursley

Disclaimer: Still not mine…but I love playing in this playground!

* * *

**Interlude: Dudley Dursley**

"Jason! Owl Post!" shouted a woman with long dirty blonde hair. She picked up three envelopes and sifted through them.

"Phone bill…letter from Lola…Dursley's? Hey, Dudley, mail!" she shouted as a man entered the room. She fed the owls a treat and let them out.

"What's for breakfast, Daisy dear?" he asked.

"Whatever you make Jason, just like always," she replied coyly. "Dudley, you've got a letter. It's addressed to your parents but I'd rather not let them out just to read a letter, so I figured you can read it and if it's important we'll let them read it. 'Kay?" said Daisy as she poured an obscene amount of soy milk into her decaf coffee.

Dudley picked up the letter and opened it. He read for a moment before a grin appeared on his face. As fast as the grin appeared it disappeared.

"Well, it looks like we'll be going home soon. Someone's going to be picking us up in a few days," he said quietly. Daisy and Jason looked up at him in surprise.

Just then two kids walked into the room, a girl and a boy, both dressed in jeans and tee shirts. They saw the looks on their parents' faces and stopped.

"What's going on?" asked the boy, who was a few years older.

"Well, Dudley just got the letter saying someone is coming to pick up him and his parents to bring them back to Surrey," said Jason.

"But what about Pinky and Greenie? I don't want them to go!" wailed the little girl.

"Oh Honey, Pinky and Greenie have to go with Dudley. We can get you new pets to take care of, okay?" replied Daisy as she hugged the little girl.

"So you're going back to England?" asked the boy.

"I'm not sure Sage. I'd guess so, but I'm not sure what happened to our house after we left," said Dudley with a frown. He stood up abruptly.

"I'm going to tell my parents, and then I'm leaving early for school. I want to walk with Stacie to school. See you later," he said to the family.

"Aren't you going to eat anything?" asked Jason.

"I don't know, I'm not really hungry," replied Dudley. Jason grabbed an apple from a basket on the counter and tossed it. Dudley caught it and walked out into the hallway. He wandered down the hall towards the 'Wrecked' room as the Johnsons' called it.

This was the room that had housed his parents for the last ten months, while he on the other hand shared a room with Sage. He poked his head into the room.

"Mum, dad, we got a letter today from that Diggle guy who brought us here. He says that Harry won the war and someone will be coming to get us in a couple days. We're going home soon. I'm going to school now, so I'll see you later," he said quickly before pulling his head back into the hallway and shutting the door.

He grabbed his backpack and put on his trainers before heading out the door. As he walked down the road he thought about the letter. Particularly about the line, _say your goodbyes,_ and what it meant for him. He was thinking so hard a shout startled him.

"Hey, Dudley!" shouted a short, black haired girl a few houses down who was waving in a goofy manner. Dudley smiled.

"Hey, Stacie!' he called back. She ran up to him and leapt into his arms for a hug. He set her down and leaned over to give her a peck on the lips.

They started walking down the road together while she told him about her night of homework, dinner, and the latest episode of Friends. He was partially listening and nodding at the right moments, but he didn't notice her get quiet and scrutinize his face.

"What's wrong?" she demanded. He sighed.

"Stacie, love," he paused. "I got a letter this morning…"

* * *

A/N: I figured I'd post 24 and 25 together since this one is so short. Tell me what you think! Dudley, with a girlfriend? Is she magic? Or is she muggle? Only I know the answer to this…Next chapter is so effing funny, i nearly pissed myself while writing it. it's almost done, then 27 has to be written before i can post it though, so Review, keep me motivated!


	26. What Happened Last Night

Disclaimer: I don't own anything HP! I am not making profit, yadda yadda! You know the drill.

* * *

**What Happened Last Night?**

Harry woke up the next morning with a splitting headache and a hazy memory of the night before. A loud groan from the other bed him wince. A moan from the body laying next to him jump. The voice that came from right next to him was definitely not Ginny's. He sat up blinking into the sunlight streaming in the windows of the hotel room.

He looked down to his left and saw the red hair and bare shoulders of his best friend. Ron was curled up hugging his pillow, snoring and drooling.

Harry jumped up with a yelp and scrambled away from the bed. He stumbled over to the other bed and saw Ginny clutching her head with her eyes squeezed tightly shut.

"Ginny? Ginny, wake up," he said in a loud whisper. She groaned again and squeezed her eyes shut tighter.

"Not so loud," she mumbled pitifully.

"Ginny, why was I in bed with your brother? Where's Hermione? How did we get back to the hotel last night? And why the bloody hell was I in bed with Ron?" he asked frantically. Ginny moaned and stuck her head under a pillow.

Harry sighed and stood up. Wasn't she worried about her boyfriend waking up next to another guy not knowing what had happened the night before? Especially her own brother! What about Hermione? Where was she? Harry clutched his head and grumbled.

"Looks like I'm just in time," said Hermione from behind him. He spun around and saw she was standing next to the door holding a bag in one hand and a room key in the other.

"Where were you? And why was I in bed with _your_ boyfriend?" asked Harry.

"Shhh!" whispered Ginny from under the pillow. Hermione chuckled.

"Yep, just in time," she muttered. She walked over to the table and set the bag down as she dug around inside it for something. Harry moaned at the noise the plastic bag was making and slumped down onto the bed by Ginny's feet.

She stiffened for a moment and then sat bolt upright and scrambled for the covers to get off. Harry saw her face as she jumped up and ran for the bathroom and knew the tell-tale green tinge meant she was in for a rough morning.

As promised, Harry and Hermione winced when they heard Ginny throw up into the toilet.

"I think I'll let her have the first dose," said Hermione as she walked to the bathroom carrying a small bottle in her fist. Harry realized it was probably a hangover draught.

He lay back onto the bed and closed his eyes as he listened to Ron's snoring, Ginny throwing up, and Hermione trying to convince her that it would work instantly and he wondered, _What happened last night?  
_

--The night before --

"You'll come? Awesome!" said Jason loudly. Harry had just told him that the four of them would come for the bonfire. "You all going to ride the party bus?" asked the boy.

"Sure. I'm not sure how we'd get there otherwise," replied Harry. Jason went to tell the driver that there were four more people coming with, while Harry went to collect his friends.

As they rode along the highway, Harry and his friends were entertained by burping contests, a sing-a-long when the lead guitarist whipped our his guitar, and a contest to see how many people would wave back at them from other cars. At one point when the bus rode over a railroad track all the band members and Harley screamed at the top of their lungs for a moment before laughing hysterically at the look on the Londoner's stunned faces.

"It's like being with five sets of Fred and George!" Ginny said in awe. Harry and the others chuckled.

When they arrived at the house Harley pulled them aside.

"I know this is going to sound weird, but if our parents ask, you guys were another band that played tonight, okay?" she said.

"May I ask why?" said Hermione.

"Of course. My parents wouldn't be too happy to know that we kind of picked of some foreign strangers at the bar and brought them home with us. I get a good vibe from you four, so I'm pretty sure you're not going to kill us in our sleep, but my mom isn't as trusting. Okay?" she said quickly as she peeked over her shoulder.

"We've brought other bands home before, so they shouldn't be too surprised. Just say you do garage rock if they ask. We'll be outside mostly, so unless you're too squeamish to go pee outside in the bushes and want to, you can go inside for that. That would be the only time you'd see the real adults."

"Harley! Come here," shouted someone in the darkness behind the garage.

"Coming! Follow me, and watch your steps. We're heading out into the field," she said as she walked across the sand driveway. They followed her out into a large secluded field towards a glowing fire. Someone had skipped helping bring the equipment inside and instead ran out to start the fire.

Hermione nearly tripped over a mole hill in the path but otherwise the path was fairly even, though a bit winding and surrounded by very tall grass.

A black truck was parked about twelve feet from the fire, it had the windows down and rock music was playing softly.

"Did you have any more wood piled up, or are we going to have to raid Kyle's yard again? You know he was almost caught last time?" asked Jeremy.

"Um, I think Jessie said she and Karson brought some from his pile, and I thought Mason brought some too? Or wasn't there any in his truck?" she asked as she pointed at the black truck.

"Oh, just a sec," said Jeremy as he trotted over to the truck. "Yeah, there's a good sized pile here. I need some help getting it all out though. We don't want Mason to leave with it again like that one time," he said. Harry and Ron wandered over to help unload the truck with Jeremy while Harley, Hermione, and Ginny went to sit down.

"Don't sit on that couch, it's got a hornet nest in it," said Harley casually. Hermione and Ginny shared a glance and headed towards the couch Harley was sitting on. The girls sat and chatted for a little while with Harley about past bonfires and soon they were roaring with laughter.

"And then Nelson stands up and Monster's like, 'What'd you want Nelson?' and Nelson's like, 'I gotta pee,' and reaches for his zipper. Monster jumps up and starts to guide Nelson to the stairs, but he stops and…and…unzips and starts peeing all over the kitchen floor!" Harley was laughing so hard she couldn't finish the story. Jeremy walks over and continued the story.

"Yeah, Jessie had just gotten a puppy so when we were all laughing, loudly I might add, and their parents come upstairs and ask what's going on, Monster just goes, 'Bernie peed on the floor.' That just made everyone laugh harder because they believed it."

Harry and Ron were sitting on the arm rests of the other couch laughing so hard they could barely breathe.

"Is he coming tonight?" Harley asked after she had calmed down.

"Nope. Monster said he's not allowed to come here and drink anymore," Jeremy chuckled.

Soon the rest of the party goers were surrounding the fire, another couch surfaced and the old one was set aside. People were pouring drinks and handing out bottles to everyone. Harry took a beer from someone and Harley's sister Jessie handed Ginny and Hermione a shot called the Pineapple Upside Down Cake shot. They both really enjoyed it, but Hermione said no to a second one.

Ron was over by the truck with several guys and Harley, who had cut several lemons and had a bowl of sugar in her hand. Harry wandered over to see what was going on.

"Okay, first you need to have a lemon wedge, dip it in the sugar really well. Next, you pick up a shot glass, down the shot and stick the lemon wedge in your mouth as soon as you swallow and bite it. It tastes like a Lemon Drop candy!" said Harley as she handed out lemons. She held out the plate to Harry and Ron and they shrugged and took one each. They dipped them in sugar and grabbed a glass.

Harry sniffed it and wrinkled his nose. Ron did the same and frowned.

"At least it smells better than Firewhiskey. Kind of fruity," he mumbled. They clinked their shots together and downed the clear liquid. Ron swallowed and stuck the lemon in his mouth while Harry swallowed and started coughing.

"Oh, yum! Harry, stick it in your mouth, quick. You can't even taste the alcohol," said Ron around his lemon with a smile. Harry complied and his coughing fit ended.

"Harley, what kind of alcohol is this?" he asked with a puckered face. She laughed at his expression.

"Citrus Vodka. I love that face, I wish I had a camera on me," she laughed. Ron joined her and took another shot glass and lemon.

"I think I'll stick to the beer," muttered Harry as he walked away. He sat on the couch and watched everyone party for a little while.

Soon, Ginny joined him on the couch and they started talking.

"So Harry, are you having fun?" she asked him.

"Yes, though that last shot was a little off for me, Ron seemed to like it," he said and pointed to Ron who was on his fifth Lemon Drop shot. She giggled loudly. Harry turned and looked at her.

"Apparently you really liked those pineapple cake things, too," he said with a smile. She giggled loudly again and leaned over to kiss him. He had to hand it to her, her lips tasted very good. "Are you having a good time?" he asked her.

"Oh yeah, very good time," she said in her giggly voice. They sat and talked for a while before she jumped up and ran over to Hermione who was standing with Monster talking about his piercings. Harry got up and joined Ron again, who talked Harry into more shots.

"Only a few more Harry, if you do it right you can't taste the alcohol, really," said Ron really fast before he downed his seventh shot in three hours. When he had whipped his head back to take the shot, he lost his balance and nearly fell backward into Jason, who caught him and righted him.

"Wow, maybe take a break for a bit Ron," Jason laughed. "Has he drank much before?" he asked Harry.

"Well, the only time I know of was before his brothers funeral. We all got a little tipsy that night," replied Harry.

"Oh, was that recent?" asked Jason quietly, looking at Ron.

"Yeah, about two weeks ago," he said to Jason quietly. Jason nodded and made a sympathetic face before walking away. Harry was grateful that he didn't ask questions.

Another hour went by and Ginny and Ron were loudly exclaiming to each other that their shot was better, joined by Harley and Jessie. Harry was talking with Jessie's friend Mandy while Hermione, who was only a little bit tipsy, was talking with Kyle about music.

Suddenly, Mandy reached over and grabbed Kyle and shouted, "Kyle, I wanna hear that one song, please?" She pulled him over to the couch where his guitar was leaning and hung on him while he played a song for her.

Ginny stumbled over to Harry and kissed him. They were both drunk enough, that if Hermione hadn't wandered over and pulled them apart, they would have made a spectacle of themselves.

"Hermione, I have to go to the bathroom," Ginny whispered loudly to her. Harley overheard and chuckled.

"I can bring her inside if you want, show her where the bathroom is," she said to Hermione.

"Actually, do you mind if I use the bathroom also? Using a bush doesn't really sound appealing to me," replied Hermione. Harley nodded and helped Hermione guide Ginny down the hill through the winding path up to the house.

As they walked in the kitchen door, a young blonde teen was walking into the kitchen holding a cardboard pizza circle with several crusts on it.

"Hey, Harley, how was the show?" she asked as she opened the garbage.

"Good, they were awesome. Um, this is Hermione and Ginny. They were with one of the other bands. Guys this is our little sister, Barleigh," Harley said quietly.

Ginny started laughing loudly. "Your parents, erm, parents named you Harley and Barleigh? Why would they do that to you?" she exclaimed with a loud chuckle. The others began laughing a well.

"Well, if you knew our parents you'd know they have a weird sense of humor," replied Harley. Barleigh just chuckled and thought to herself, _the redhead is definitely drunk._

Barleigh helped Harley get Ginny upstairs to the bathroom, while Hermione was pointed down the stairs to a second one.

Once Hermione was finished she wandered up two flights of stairs and found the sisters giggling hysterically. Through the bathroom door she could hear Ginny singing to herself, loudly.

"Has she been singing this whole time?" she asked them quietly. They nodded and giggled some more.

"Is she really that drunk, or is she the singer?" asked Barleigh through her giggles.

"Er, she's just that drunk, I think," replied Hermione. Just then Ginny opened the door.

"Hermione, I can't figure out this damn button…and where is my bra?" she asked. Harley and Barleigh burst out laughing. Hermione gave her friend a horrified look.

"What do you mean where is your bra? Aren't you wearing it?" she asked weakly. Ginny reached up and felt her chest. Barleigh was laughing so hard by now she nearly fell down the stairs so she sat and clutched her stomach.

"Oh, you found it! Thank you Hermione! But what about my button?" she said. Hermione, dumbfounded, helped Ginny figure out why her button wouldn't work, to Barleigh's great amusement. Once Ginny had turned her pants right side out, they went back outside to the fire.

"Oi! 'Mione, where've you been? You missed it, we all did flaming shots of…of…some kind of flaming liquor! It was great! And that guy over there has no more eyebrows now," Ron dissolved into a fit of laughter at Kyle's misfortune. Hermione shook her head and looked around in the dark to try and find Harry.

"Hey! I brought my piercing gun, who wants to get pierced?" called Mandy. Hermione ignored her and continued her search for Harry. It was about time they left.

Soon enough she located him sitting out in the field past the ring of firelight, sitting in a circle of people including, Monster, Harley, Jason, Jeremy, and Jason's girlfriend Moira. In the center of the circle was an ornate looking vase, with what looked like an upside down candle stick holder on top of it and two tubes coming off the sides. Monster was handing his tube to Jason and exhaling copious amounts of smoke, while Harley was teaching Harry how to inhale from the tube.

"Harry! What are you doing?" Hermione demanded as she stormed over. Harry, startled by the shout, started coughing out the smoke he'd inhaled. The others around the circle laughed.

"Oh, don't worry Hermione, I wouldn't let them do anything illegal here. This is just flavored tobacco, blueberry flavored I think. I like to have fun, but legal fun only," Harley said quickly before Hermione started freaking out. Just as Hermione started to say it was time to go, they heard a painful yell and cursing from Ron by the fire. She grabbed Harry and ran back to the fire dragging him with her.

"Oh, bloody hell! Ow, ow! Make it stop hurting!" Ron squealed. Hermione ran towards him and saw blood going down the side of his face and Mandy holding a white, gun shaped object by Ron's head.

"Hold still it's kind of stuck inside your ear," said Mandy through clenched teeth. She twisted the piercing gun and Ron screamed loudly.

"Shh, Rosie'll hear you! We can't let her call the cops on us!" Jessie squealed at him. Hermione ran over just as Mandy pulled the gun away from Ron's head. She could see a sparkling, pink stud sitting on Ron's earlobe. She pulled him away from Mandy, who had loaded the gun with another earring and pulled Kyle towards her, and sat him on the sofa next to Harry.

"Now, you two stay here while I find Ginny, then we're going back to the hotel," she said as she turned away. She had left Ginny next to Jessie and Karson who had been sitting on the other couch. Now they had disappeared, as had Ginny.

"Hey," she walked up to two girls she vaguely remembered being named Angel and Karly. "Have you seen Ginny?" They looked at her blankly. "Short girl, accent, red hair?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah, she wandered off over there about five minutes ago," replied one of the girls. Hermione thanked her and headed in that direction.

"It's okay, once you get it out, you'll feel better," said Harley. Hermione realized which direction she was headed just as she came upon the wayward circle again. Monster pointed over towards a short pine tree, as he walked back to the fire. She walked over and saw Ginny leaning forward, hands on her knees, and Harley rubbing the bent girls back.

Just as Hermione got close Ginny threw up spectacularly into the darkness of the tree.

"I think that's it," Ginny murmured as she wiped her mouth. Harley handed her a water bottle.

"Drink this, it'll help."

"What is that?" asked Hermione. The girls turned.

"Water, we were going to use it for the hookah but some idiot forgot to bring more coals, so it's an extra bottle," said Harley. The two fairly sober girls helped Ginny to the recently vacated couch.

"Now where the bloody hell have those two gone now?" moaned Hermione. She clutched her head with both hands and closed her eyes. _Merlin_, she thought, _help me stay calm and not kill them_.

"Hermione, did you just swear?" said Ginny, shocked. Harley chuckled.

"I'll watch her, if you want to go find your friends. We'll be right here," she said. Hermione smiled her gratitude and started another search. She heard voices coming from the far end of the field and beams of light scanning the bushes.

Her first thought was about Jessie's comment earlier about a Rosie calling the cops if they got to loud, but right after that thought occurred to her she heard laughing and talking around the lights. She wandered closer but as she neared a fairly large tree something flew out of it and hit her. She stumbled as she pulled the fabric off her head as she recognized Ron's shirt.

She gazed up into the tree and saw three faces: Ron's, Harry's, and Kyle's. Each of them was shirtless, and working on various other pieces of clothing, letting them fall to the ground. Hermione didn't know what to say or do.

"Ron! Harry!" she started. Kyle jumped and grabbed a branch before he fell.

"Shh! They can't know where we are!" they whispered loudly.

"What are you…why are you taking your clothes off?" she asked quieter. Ron dropped his jeans on the ground as Harry peeled off his socks.

"They wont be able to see us as good if we aren't wearing bright clothes," Kyle said as he too peeled off his socks and dropped them.

"Ronald Weasley, if you take off your underwear, I'm stealing your clothes and letting walk back to the hotel starkers! The same goes for you too, Harry Potter!" she yelped when she caught sight of a bare backside.

"What was that? Over there by the tree!" someone shouted.

"Oh, crap! Quick Harry, Ron. Run!" Kyle shouted as he jumped from the tree wearing nothing but his shoes. Hermione yelped and covered her eyes. She heard many running feet coming towards her and Kyle's feet running away.

Suddenly, she heard two more bodies land near her, she peeked her eyes open and saw Ron and Harry laying on the ground in nothing but their underwear and shoes. They had tried to jump but landed and fell down.

The running feet were getting nearer, flashes of light were bobbing through the grass. Monster, Mason, and Jeremy showed up each holding a flashlight.

"Hah! We found you!" bellowed Jeremy. "Holy crap!" he said as he shielded his eyes.

"Why the hell are they naked!" asked Monster with a laugh. Mason started searching the fields for Kyle.

"Monster, you bring these two to the check point. Jeremy and I'll keep looking for Kyle," he said.

"Hell no! I'm not touching their naked asses, uh-uh, no way," said Monster shaking his head.

"We're not completely naked!" said Harry from the ground.

"Would someone, please, tell me what's going on?" Hermione asked exasperated and looking at the sky.

"Naked flashlight tag!" Ron said happily. Harry giggled loudly.

"Um, no, we were just playing Flashlight tag, I don't know why these two are naked," Monster said.

"Uh, they aren't completely naked, but whoever belongs to these sure is," said Jeremy. He was holding a long stick and on the end of it were a pair of boxers with little red hearts on them.

"Oh man! Kyle you bastard!" Monster yelled into the night. They heard maniacal laughter coming from near the bonfire. Suddenly, feminine screams came from the bonfire also. Jeremy and Hermione each grabbed an arm of the partially naked boys, while Monster and Mason had a head start running towards the fire pit.

When they arrived they saw Ginny laughing so hard she was clutching her abdomen, Harley was attempting to herd Kyle towards the darkness while keeping her eyes off him. Jessie and Karson were laughing into each others shoulders, while everyone else was cheering the boy on.

Kyle was doing a weird victory dance around the fire pit, swinging his hips to the music coming from the truck. Hermione grabbed Ginny and dragged her towards the boys who were laughing and trying to join Kyle in his dance.

She dragged her three drunk friends to the tree where Harry's and Ron's clothes were.

"You two get dressed right now! And you better hope I don't tell all your brothers about this," she muttered. Ron and Harry got dressed, which was very difficult in the dark and while very drunk. Hermione spelled Ginny and the boys to each other to keep them in one place while she returned to the fire.

Five minutes later, she returned and picked up and stone from the ground.

"_Portus_," she tapped the stone and it turned blue. "Okay, you guys all have to touch it. Just a finger, Ron." She tapped the stone once more and they disappeared and reappeared in the hotel room.

After getting Harry and Ginny into bed she laid down next to Ron. Soon enough she realized her mistake and rearranged the sleeping arrangements so as to avoid embarrassing situations in the morning. She laid Ron next to Harry and Ginny next to herself.

"I am so blackmailing all of you with this someday," she muttered as she fell asleep.

--Back to the Present –

Once the hung over teens were dosed with potion, they set about showering and getting dressed. Hermione wandered across the street and bought a dozen éclairs for breakfast while the others got ready.

"Hermione," started Harry as he picked a large, chocolate Long John from the box. "Where did you get hangover potion from?" he finished.

"Well, when I woke up this morning I knew you all would need some. I considered letting it wear off the natural way, but then I realized it would affect my day if I did that. So I went to the Wizarding Wabasha Caves and went to the apothecary," she said as she watched Ron take a huge bite of éclair and squirt crème down his shirt. She shook her head and waved her wand at him and the stain disappeared.

"Fanks," he said through his food, spraying the carpet with crumbs.

"Anyways," she said shaking her head. "I figured at least one of us should know where we are going. I think we should visit the caves today, and maybe the Mall of America, too. It's supposed to be one of the Top ten largest malls in the world," she finished.

"You mean bigger than the one in Australia we went to?" asked Ron disbelievingly.

"Shopping sounds like fun," replied Ginny.

"Hold on, how did we get back to the hotel last night?" asked Ron. Harry nodded.

"I made a Portkey," replied Hermione as she took a bite of doughnut. The others stared at her.

"When did you have time to learn how to make a Portkey ever?" asked Ron accusingly.

"When we were searching the house for the Portrait I came across a book. I had decided to search the library to see if Bill had shrunk the portrait to book size and hidden it on a shelf. Obviously it wasn't there, but I found a few books that were intriguing, and one had a section on making Portkeys.

"It's a relatively complicated process to make one but once you know the theory and how and where its going, it's not that hard to make one," she finished.

"But isn't it illegal to make one unauthorized?" asked Harry. Ron began looking at Hermione in a new light. To break the rules was one thing, but to completely break the law was out of character for the brainiac.

"Don't give me that look Ronald. The book had a list of places it's illegal. Great Britain and almost all of Europe it's illegal, but the United States it's perfectly okay," she said. Their blank looks made her huff in exasperation.

"Europe has too many people for the Government to keep track of all their movements by Floo, Apparition, flying with brooms or other objects, _and_ unauthorized Portkey. The United States doesn't have as many wizarding people per mile as Europe does, so they allow their citizens to Portkey as well as the other means of travel. They have a branch in their Ministry like the Floo Regulation, except for Portkey control."

The others sat and thought about this for several minutes while Hermione flipped through the channels of the Television and ate her éclair.

"So," began Harry. "How do the Muggles think we got back to our hotel?"

"I Confounded them. They all think that someone else brought us to town for a cab. That and most of them were so drunk they probably forgot we were even there. Except for Monster, I think you two scarred him for life during Naked Flashlight Tag." She smirked at their howls of horror and Ginny's howls of mirth.

"We did WHAT?" screamed Ron and Harry in unison.

She turned off the TV and turned to them. "Are we going out today or not?" she asked.

"You can't just say that and not tell us what we did! Were we really naked?" asked Harry weakly. Ron sat and stared at Harry horrified. Ginny was still laughing wildly.

"You really don't remember anything?" asked Hermione with a smirk. They shook their heads slowly. She smiled a wide smile.

"I think I'll let you suffer. I'll also let you know, that I have blackmail material on all three of you that could last me years," she said. Seeing Ginny's disbelieving face she said, "Did you ever find your bra, Ginny?" The younger girl's smile was wiped from her face instantly. Ron whooped, glad that he wasn't the only one who was getting blackmailed.

"What? Why was your bra off last night Ginny?" Harry asked a shocked and incredulous look on his face. Ginny looked to him and then to Hermione.

"Don't worry Harry, nothing happened that should cause a problem between you two. Ginny was just a little…forgetful. Now, lets get going," she said with a grin.

The others stood up and she grabbed the room key. She had Harry hold her arm while she apperated them to the Caves. Once he had a quick look around they returned to hotel to bring the others side-along.

* * *

**A/N**: X-Isle won Battle of the Bands last night at our local town carnival!

So, what did you think. Was it realistic? Was it funny? I know the people I fashioned my characters from, and I know that this is usually a big faux pas when writing a fan fiction (and while writing it I ended up having to go back and change all the names for my own sanity), you have to be able to separate the real people from the characters but seeing as how I brought the HP people to Minnesota, I was running out of ideas for things for them to do here. I always have a lot of fun at bonfires, they are a huge thing where I'm from and someone, usually a person who knows a person who knows us, has one every weekend during the summer (or we do), starting in about April to about December (Yes even with snow on the ground) we are having bonfires every weekend. So what kind of fun could Harry and the gang have? Bonfire! But who could they have it with? So things just kind have led up to this chapter. I hope you all liked it.

So I have made it to 20,000 hits to my story! So I want to thank a few people who have reviewed the last few chapters. **Prongster**, **Bashalinge**, **Chelsea**, **sithlorde1988**, and all of you who review! I cherish every review you guys send and reply to them all also. Even if you send a 'great chapter', or 'lol', I'll reply with a thanks. Some people even get hints at the next chapter!

My next chapter is not even started yet, I usually try to have two chapters written before I post a new chapter, so that I always have a back up of one written chapter at all times. But I have gotten so many reviews in the last week and a half that I think you faithful reviewers deserved this one. So it may take about 2 weeks before I get the next one up.

Sorry for the insanely long a/n.

Oh! **I posted a new one shot** I wrote a long time ago, called **War POV's**. Go check it out and leave a review!


	27. Togged to the Bricks

**Disclaimer**: I don't own no stinking copywrites, or papers for neither Harry Potter or the Godfather. But I could get you cats and alligators some mighty fine giggle water and teach you some keen or whacky hopping moves for the local Apple's biggest Clip joint! Yo, I sound a tiny bit splifficated or soaked with a bar rag! Pie-eyed ya know?

**A/N**: I'm taking some liberties with the mall. See rest of a/n at the end of the chapter.

* * *

_**Togged to the Bricks and Hoppin' to the Wingding**_

The trip to the caves was quick for the four teens. When they arrived they stepped to the side and took a look around them. The Apparition spot was situated at the top of a slight hill so the new arrivals could see all around the caves to find their destination.

The Wabasha Wizarding Caves was literally a giant cavern filled with smaller buildings. Large balls of whitish-yellow light were spaced evenly along the ceiling of the cave, providing enough light to feel as if they were outside. The interior of the cavern could fit several Quidditch Pitches inside comfortably had the small shops not been there. Indeed, Ron was excited to see a large pitch on the far side of the cave.

Harry could see several shops advertising things such as books, cauldrons, and quills, but also several shops for jokes, clothes, and an old building that looked like it hadn't been cleaned in many years that said Smith's Scrolls. A large white marble building was centered between the Apparition spot and a Quidditch Pitch. Harry could see a Goblin guard standing in front of the doors.

Several owls appeared nearby and flew to a building that had the word Post in front of the window.

All around them witches and wizards popped into the caves and wandered down to the shops. Many of the people who arrived were wearing Muggle clothes, which surprised the teens. In Diagon Alley, you were hard pressed to find an adult wizard or witch wearing Muggle clothes unless they were married to a Muggle, or Muggle-born, or lived in an area with many Muggles. Usually, adults didn't bother with Muggle clothes since they could Apparate to their destination or Floo, never having much contact with the Muggle world.

But here in Minnesota it seemed like magical folk mixed with the Muggles on a daily basis. To emphasize the point, Harry watched as a boy roughly their age popped into the area. He was wearing baggy jeans and a black tee-shirt and was listening to Muggle headphones attached to a small black box with several buttons on the top. He recognized it as a Walkman, like one of Dudley's old toys.

"Hey, Hermione," he muttered. "How do you reckon he's able to use a Muggle device here?" he asked her. She looked and saw the teen walking away bouncing to the music.

"I'm not sure. Maybe it's enhanced by magic," she muttered back.

They started to walk around looking at the sites. Every once in a while they'd point at something and exclaim at is strangeness, or similarity to Diagon Alley. Hermione decided to check out the bookstore called Baggins' Books.

They pushed the door open and Hermione inhaled deeply, with a look of bliss on her face. Ron rolled his eyes and walked towards the Quidditch section, while Harry and Ginny secluded themselves in the Defensive Magic section. Hermione flitted from one section to another for a short while just looking at the different areas.

Soon, Harry and Ginny had a small stack of books on different subjects. Harry had found a book in between the Defense and Transfiguration sections on Animagus transformations. He'd had the idea of trying to become an Animagus since he'd found out his father had been one, but had never had the time or the patience to try. Now that he was free of the Prophecy he could at least try.

Ginny saw his choice and raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. She picked out a book on how to craft new spells and charms.

Ron had been searching the area with Quidditch books and found one on the popular American game Quodpot. He didn't understand the thrill of just passing a ball to each other waiting for it to explode in his face with no Keepers, Seekers, or Beaters, but being a Quidditch fanatic he wanted to learn more about the take-off game.

Hermione was searching through the ancient books in the back and found a book called _Wicket's Compendium of Most Ancient Love Spells_ by Worvell Wicket and one called _Native American Spirit Animal Magic_ by Chief Nakumatan. When the others gave her a look at the first title she huffed.

"Now really," she started. "It's about using Love to enhance your magic. Ring a bell? Harry's mum?" Harry suddenly looked very interested in the book.

While they were purchasing their finds, Harry reached over and grabbed one more book off the shelf nearest the counter. When the cashier set it down Ron snorted.

"_Inventory of Household Handy Spells_? Really Harry?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. Harry frowned at him.

"Ron, do you know a dusting spell? Or a spell that can paint a room, or get rid of bugs or cook? If I expect to live alone at all, I'll need to know these," Harry said as he handed over the money. Ron looked at him.

"But, isn't that kind of stuff a wom—"

"Ronald Weasley, if the words 'woman's job' come out of your mouth I swear you will be looking for a new girlfriend so fast, your head will spin!" Hermione growled at him. The look on her face was so fierce Ron reached over and grabbed one of the books and set it on the counter.

"I'll take one, also, please!" he said to the man behind the counter. The man chuckled.

"Good thinkin' sonny," he said, making Harry and Ginny laugh. Ron paid for the book and held it between himself and Hermione. She glared at him for a moment before smirking at him and turning to walk outside. Realizing he'd been had, he frowned and looked at the book he'd just bought.

"Hey, Ron. Can you help me with something? What's this word I'm looking for?" Harry asked his friend. Ron looked at him quizzically. Ginny snorted.

"Harry, I think you're looking for the word 'Whipped'," she said.

"Ah! Yes, that's the word! Ron you are so—"

"Whipped!" Ginny finished for him with a grin. Ron scowled and stormed after Hermione who had taken the bag of books outside. The two laughed heartily as they followed him out of the store.

They found Hermione talking to a ghost couple.

The man was in 1930's Gangster garb, and had a Tommy-gun hung casually over his shoulder and a brief case in his hand. The woman was wearing a very short black flappers dress, a long, black feathered boa, several long pearl necklaces and fishnet stockings with stiletto knee-high boots. She had elbow length black gloves, a headband with a black feather sticking out of it and a twelve inch Beatnick cigarette holder in her right hand. She had her left arm around the mans right arm and they hovered a few inches off the ground.

"This beautiful doll and myself would be most honored to have the pleasure of your esteemed company, and the company of your truly fine fella and your well-regarded Joes as we will be wetting our mugs with some hot juice from this Armory-type establishment, after which we will be taking these two papers and slipping them to the jasper at the door where we will be taking in some most elegant song and dance style entertainment. What say you, eh?" the male ghost said to their small group.

Ron and Harry stared at him with blank looks, while Ginny and Hermione giggled at the strange jargon.

"Huh?" Ron said intelligently.

"I myself am askin' you Joes if you and your filly's would accompany myself and my kitten to the local Clip joint and share in some well-gotten giggle juice and then we'd all get togged to the bricks and go for a jolly up and have a Ring-a-ding-ding at the Gin mill. You dig, Pally?" asked the man.

"Er, I have no idea what you just said," replied Ron glancing at Harry and the others. Harry shrugged, and the girls giggled harder.

"This high hat don't know your story, morning glory. They's all wet. Let's get hoppin' to the wingding, before I take a powder and find some Johnny with some real bacon, who can show me a juicy clam bake where I can blow my wig! You dig? I didn't get dolled up smooth for no reason, Mickey," the woman said angrily.

"Come on doll face, don't be that way. I was just tripping for biscuits with these wheats and they're Molls. We'll make tracks now, and go to the Apple's biggest Clam-bake clip joint there is baby. You know I'm dizzy for you doll face," the man said as the two slid away from the teens. The four of them stood and looked at each other before bursting out into raucous laughter.

"Do any of you know what they said? Or was it all nonsense?" Ginny asked.

"I have a feeling they were inviting us to do something inappropriate but I'm not sure. I could tell they were from around the 1920's to 30's. Probably killed in some kind of Gang fight," Harry replied, earning looks from the others.

"What? My uncle liked watching The Godfather. It's not like I could ignore it when he watched it like three or four times a month," Harry replied. Hermione shook his head while Ginny and Ron looked confused.

"Why would your uncle like watching his Godfather a few times a month?" asked Ginny.

"No, _The_ Godfather. It's a gangster movie people watch on the television," said Hermione.

They decided to keep walking and checking out certain shops and stores.

"What is _that_?" Hermione pointed to a fairly large building with big green letters on the front that said Muggle-Mart.

"I'm not sure." Harry shrugged, and pointed out the youth from earlier that was using Muggle head-phones and a Walkman was coming out. "But he might know."

They walked over and flagged down the adolescent.

"Excuse me, we're kind of new in town. Could you tell us, what that store sells?" asked Harry. The boy turned and looked at the store.

"Um, isn't it kind of obvious? It sells Muggle stuff," the boy said. "Usually the stuff is spelled to not need things like batteries or cords and stuff. Powered by magic, you know?" Harry nodded and thanked the boy who walked off giving them strange looks. Harry looked at the others and gestured to the store and the teens headed off to their next destination, The Muggle-Mart.

As they walked in a man wearing a green vest welcomed them. They nodded to the man who looked tired and dejected.

"That guy sure could use a Cheering Charm or two," Ron mumbled. Harry nodded. As they entered the store that saw row upon row of shelves upon shelves of things like clothing, food, electronics, and toys.

"Wow," Ginny said.

"Isn't it illegal to bewitch Muggle artifacts?" asked Hermione in a whisper.

"In Europe yes, but I guess it isn't here," replied Ron.

The four teens spent an hour wandering the isles and playing with items. Ginny giggled like crazy in the Lamp isle where she found a lamp shaped like a hula dancer, that would actually sway her hips and dance when you turned on the lamp.

Harry was enthralled with the electronics department and decided to buy himself a television and VCR plus several movies, when Hermione reminded him that the items would be illegal to bring back into the country with them, being charmed the way they were. Not to mention that they still had several days left in the country and they might need the money for something else.

He put them all back sadly, but perked up later when he decided to buy a Walkman and several mix tapes instead. Hermione could not discourage him when he looked so excited, so she let it pass for the smaller items. A television would have been hard to hide in a trunk.

Soon they were exiting the store and wandering onwards down the lane. Eventually they made it to the opposite side of the cavern next to the Quidditch and Quodpot stadium. Ron was jumping up and down and begging to go inside and check it out. So Hermione finally relented and the four wandered inside.

What they saw was a stadium that could seat several thousand spectators, a large green pitch with several lines on the ground apart from the one basic circle they were used to, and twenty-three people in the air on brooms. There were a couple people on the ground shouting up at the fliers Harry took them as the coaches.

"Why are there so many people in the air?" Ginny asked.

"I think they're playing Quodpot, not Quidditch. See how there's a cauldron at each end of the field?" Ron was pointing out this to Ginny when they all saw the big red ball explode loudly in a man's face. Hermione gasped and took a step forward as if to run to help, but stopped with the opposite team cheered loudly. They watched the man, who no longer had eyebrows, fly unsteadily to the ground and sit on the grass.

Ron and Harry shared a look and the four walked over to the man.

"Erm, excuse me, sir? Are you okay?" asked Hermione. The man saw a shadow and glanced up. Seeing Hermione's concerned face he smiled. They saw a canine tooth missing from his upper mandible.

"Hold on a moment, sweetheart. I gotta let my hearing come back!" he said loudly. Hermione looked at the others then nodded at the man. They all sat next to him on the ground and waited. Ron grumbled about strange men calling girls they don't know sweetheart, and when he sat down he sat in a way that had Hermione between his legs and leaning against his chest.

Hermione rolled her eyes but sat down with Ron anyways, a faint smile on her lips. Harry and Ginny chuckled and rolled their eyes as they sat side by side next to their friends. They sat and watched the game while they waited.

After a few minutes, the man, who had been digging in his ear with his finger, twitched and then sighed.

"It's the popping noise that bugs me, not the loosing my hearing part. I always jump when the ear drum pops," he said casually in a normal tone of voice. They others stared at him like he was insane so he chuckled.

"My names Derek, how are you?" he said sticking his hand out to them. They shook his hand as they introduced themselves. They heard another explosion and saw a teammate of Derek's floating down towards them.

"Harry Potter, sounds kinda familiar. You in the news recently?" he asked. Harry turned red in the face.

"Kind of. Its not really a big deal though," he said bashfully.

"Harry Potter, isn't he the one that defeated that Dark wizard in Scotland a few weeks ago?" asked the new teammate. Derek's eye's lit up.

"That's it! I remember now. So you defeated that wizard huh? I thought you'd be, I don't know, older," he said as he sized up Harry. The new teammate looked at Harry quizzically.

"He ain't Harry Potter, Derek. To defeat a wizard as bad as Voldemort the real Harry Potter has to be at least out of school, if not in his seventies or something like that Dumbledore guy. This kid doesn't look like he could defeat a Bowtruckle if he wanted too, let alone a Dark flipping wizard. Jeez Derek, how gullible are you?" asked the newcomer with disdain.

At his comment Harry burst out laughing while the others looked either flabbergasted at the man's rudeness, or dumbfounded at Harry's response.

"Excuse me, my name's Grant. What're your names?" asked the man. The girls and Ron answered him tersely while Harry smiled. When the man got to Harry he smiled.

"Now, I know your not really Harry flipping Potter, so what's your real name, dude?"

"I'm sorry to disappoint but my name really is Harry Potter," Harry replied with a huge grin. The man looked at Harry closely for a few minutes.

"I follow the news fairly well. I've seen articles about this Harry Potter fella, and I'm pretty sure that you ain't him," said Grant.

"Hey, Grant! Get over here," shouted the coach. Grant stood up and trotted over leaving Harry chuckling, and the others fuming.

"How can you be laughing Harry? That guy just insulted you," replied Ginny.

"No he didn't, he treated me like a human being, _and_ he gave me a good laugh. I've beaten much worse than a Bowtruckle, and if I don't look like it, I don't care what others think. Just as long as they aren't following me around like love-struck puppies, I'll be fine with how good or bad they treat me," he said softly. The others calmed down seeing that Harry wasn't upset. Derek watched the whole scene with interest.

"You really are Harry Potter aren't you?" he asked quietly. Harry nodded at him.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Harry. Congratulations on winning the war," said Derek with a nod.

"Thank you. Could I ask you a few questions about the game you were playing?" he asked. Derek nodded and they were off in a sports discussion that Hermione and Ginny soon lost interest in. Ginny may have been a Quidditch enthusiast, but she held no interest for Quodpot. Bludgers were one thing, but having the ball explode in her face was not appealing in the least.

Harry and Ron learned that the game had eleven players a side. The teams flew around similar to chasers in Quidditch and tossed the Quod from team member to team member until either the ball exploded or got tossed into the cauldron at the either end of the pitch. Inside the cauldron was a solution that prevented the Quod from exploding. If the team could get the ball into the cauldron before it exploded that team got a point. If the Quod exploded in the hands of someone, like it had for Derek, they were out of the game and the other team got the new ball to start with. The game could only last three hours and the mercy rule sat at fifty points. The game was won by either making it to fifty points or making it to the three hours with at least one player and the most points.

"So, Marty and I've been trying to come up with a spell that will re-figure the Quod after it explodes, but so far all we have is a pile of exploded balls and several Quod's that, for some reason, explode, re-figure itself, then immediately explodes again. It's a never ending cycle. We figure if we can get a ball to explode and re-figure itself back to a ball that is playable and will explode again after a random amount of time, and keeps working this way for more than a few weeks, we can sell it on the market, and maybe it will become a more popular game for families and get-togethers.

"The biggest marketable issue for Quodpot is that once the ball explodes or gets put in the solution it can't be used again unless it's re-spelled. So people are constantly having to buy many Quod's at the same time, and do it constantly.

"Pick up games almost never make it to fifty points, because no one can afford fifty balls, let alone several dozen more than fifty to cover the ones that explode. An average fifty point game uses about seventy-five to eighty balls." Derek rambled on and on about his and Marty's idea and why it was such a good one for several more long minutes before someone called him over to meet with the team.

"Well, I got to go. Nice meeting you Harry, guys. I hope you enjoyed the game!" he said before running off.

"Nutter," Ron mumbled. Hermione snickered.

"How can someone be so obsessed about a game where the ball explodes in your face? Or uses eighty bloody balls for one game. What a waste of money," he grumbled. The others shook with silent laughter as they walked back out of the stadium and down the lane towards the Apparition point where they popped back to their hotel room.

Agreeing to take a look at the Mall of America for an hour or two, they called a cab from the hotel and arrived in front of one of the largest buildings that had ever seen.

Harry paid the cab driver and turned around. The others were staring at the large brick building and the huge Mall of America sign with the even larger red, white, and blue star and banner above the words.

While the building wasn't very tall, only about five stories, it was extremely long. They glanced at each other with surprised looks on their faces.

"I think this place might take longer than a couple hours," Ginny said in awe.

"Maybe more like a couple weeks," replied Ron.

As they headed in, Hermione grabbed four pamphlets off a kiosk that contained a map, and a list of all the major retail stores in really small writing.

"Three floors for retail, and the fourth floor contains a restaurant, a bar, and a large area of theaters. Wow, listen to this, overall this mall is 4.2 million square feet, or 230,000 square meters, and only 2.5 million square feet is dedicated to retail outlets. There's a theme park called Camp Snoopy after the Charlie Brown character, and an Underwater Adventures where you can walk through and under a 1.2 million gallon aquarium. They even let you pet sharks and sting rays!" Hermione exclaimed excitedly.

"Let's go right now!" Ginny said bouncing up and down. The girls started walking away together.

"Er, girls?" Harry called after them. They turned and looked at him. "We need to divide up some money so we all have some. Then, this is a huge place. Practically a country of its own. What do we do if we get separated?" he asked. Hermione looked shocked that she, the more logical and rational of the four, hadn't thought of that.

"Oh," she muttered. She pulled out her pamphlet and started looking through it. She found a fairly central location on the first floor, called Legoland. "How about if we get separated we'll meet at Legoland an hour after we get lost?" she asked. The others looked at each other and nodded.

Once Hermione had made sure that each person's pamphlet had Legoland circled and was safely in their pockets. She and Ginny turned and walked towards a shop for clothes.

"Well, I guess we get to sit for a while and watch the girls try on a dozen outfits, again," Ron mumbled to Harry who chuckled.

"Or we could 'get lost'," he muttered back, earning a grin from Ron. The two watched the girls turn around to look for them when they darted behind a large group of Muggles and then through a store and out a different entrance into a hallway. Next, they ran up to an escalator and Ron whooped at getting to ride another one. They made it to the second floor and slowed to a walk.

Downstairs, Ginny and Hermione caught the look on the boys faces when they had turned around and watched the guys jump and run. The girls made no move to stop them as they wanted a couple hours to themselves also.

Harry and Ron spent an hour roaming the second and third floors just checking out what kind of stores there were in the largest mall either had ever seen. Harry stopped and bought some All-Star Converse shoes at a shoe store, and they both bought lattes at the Starbucks and ice cream cones at Dairy Queen. Otherwise their wallets stayed in their pockets for the most part.

Harry had to force Ron away from the two large shops that sold nothing but chocolate, but they spent more than a few minutes ogling the mannequins in the Victoria's Secret windows, to shy to enter the store. They also spent a few minutes questioning the sanity of the Muggles for having not one but two entire stores devoted to just sunglasses.

They wandered up to the third floor and found a novelty photo shop that allowed customers to dress up in period costumes and get professional photos taken and they decided to bring the girls back there later.

Meanwhile, downstairs on the most crowded floor of the building, the girls window shopped for an hour, buying only a few tops and a skirt each for later in the week. They also bought a coffee drink from Starbucks and found the entrance for Camp Snoopy and the Underwater Adventures.

They squealed and search for an outfit for Teddy at the Baby Gap, laughing about a huge store like that for just babies. They treated themselves to a large stock of spa supplies and beauty supplies at one store. They watched a teddy bear shop make custom teddy bears, shared a glance and bought an adorable multi-colored teddy bear for Teddy.

After an hour of separate exploring the girls headed towards the meeting place and waited for five minutes for the guys.

When the boys showed up the girls made a point to express their disappointment at being ditched, but Harry made a quick save by explaining that they explored two floors while the girls explored the much more occupied first floor. They had all scoped out stores and shops they wanted to visit, now they could save time by just doing the things they wanted to do.

"Nice save there Harry, I though Ginny was going to bite off your head back there," Ron whispered. Harry nodded and smirked back at him.

It was getting close to lunch time so they all made the decision to divide into their respective couples and find separate restaurants to eat in for the afternoon and meet up an hour and a half.

Ron and Harry hadn't seen many good restaurants on the second and third floors, other than fast food stands and counters so they girls dragged their boys off to the few that they saw on the first floor.

Hermione had seen and Italian bistro called Tucci Benucch and asked Ron if he'd like that. He agreed so they headed off towards the west side of the mall.

"So, did you see anywhere you liked?" Harry asked Ginny.

"Actually, yes, I did. I'm surprised Hermione didn't drag Ron there, she thought it looked cool too," she replied as they headed to the eastern side. They arrived in front of a very large tropical looking store front that read, Rainforest Café. Harry was impressed at the extravagance of the front of the building. Large, mechanical Macaws and Toucans were perched inside. A large waterfall and coi/wishing pond was on both side of the entrance. A young woman was standing at the podium waiting for a customer to come in.

"Hello. Welcome to the Rainforest Café, would you like Smoking or non-smoking?" she asked them.

"Non-smoking," Harry replied.

"Alright, is it just the two of you?" Harry nodded and she asked them to follow her. She seated them next to a large pool that had a fairly life-like Elephant coming out of the wall on the other side. They ordered sodas and the waitress left them with a long menu. Once they had picked out their food, they looked around.

The place wasn't very crowded at the moment, but several tables were filled with families. The whole restaurant had a feel of being in a large tree house. The ceiling was made of branches and leaves, like a real jungle canopy. The floor was made of wood planks like a tree fort. At the center of the room was a large plaster tree trunk surrounded by more foliage. Spaced carefully around the ceiling were gaps in the flora allowing a faux-sunlight into the room and several large rubber snakes were hanging down in a few places. Bird cages hung around the room with either real stuffed birds or very realistic fake ones. Many areas of the outer wall had large mammals that could be found in the jungle. Tropical sounds were piped in from speakers unknown, but created a very comforting effect.

"Ginny, I am glad we came here. I would have wanted to come here even if Ron and Hermione had come too. This place is so cool," Harry said. Ginny smiled. She too was amazed at the creativity of Muggles. No wizard in their right minds would think of this for a good restaurant, but the feel of the environment of the place was so laid back, yet family-friendly and classy at the same time.

"Hello, my name is Bonnie, I'll be your waitress this afternoon. Have you too decided on what you want to eat?" asked the waitress. Harry looked at the menu.

"Ginny, do you want to go first?" She nodded.

"What's calamari?" she asked.

"Calamari is Italian for squid. We deep fry our calamari with our own house spices and serve it with marinara sauce," the waitress recited.

"Squid huh? Harry, you still want to get the sampler?" she asked him. He nodded.

"I'm adventurous, Squid can't be that bad," he replied with a smirk.

"Okay, but if I don't like it, your eating it all. We'll take the Awesome Appetizer Adventure for the appetizers. I'm in the mood for seafood, I see that you have English style fish and chips? I think I'd like to branch off, but I've never really had much else for sea food. Is there a particular dish you'd recommend?" Ginny asked quickly. The waitress thought for a moment.

"Personally, I'm not a seafood person, but they have us try each new menu item so we can answer this question. I think the Macadamia Crusted Tilapia is pretty good for fish, but I would suggest getting it with the Coconut Shrimp also. Gives you a good choice between items, and the shrimp is really good dipped in the tangy teriyaki glaze and mango puree." When she was finished talking Ginny was smiling and nodding, also trying to hold in the drool.

"I'll take that," Ginny said. Even Harry had to admit it sounded mouthwatering.

"Would you like a salad to start with? It takes a little while for the main dishes to come," Bonnie said after writing down the fish dish. Ginny perused the menu and replied with the China Island Chicken Salad. Bonnie turned to Harry.

"I'll take the Volcanic Cobb salad, and the _Pastalava_," he said with an evil grin.

"Harry, no! I refuse to sleep in the same bed as you tonight if you eat that. You'll be sleeping with Ron again," Ginny warned.

"Hey, I said I was adventurous, and this says 'Only for the truly adventurous'," he said with a shrug and a classic Harry grin.

"I'll warn you Harry, most people who order it can't finish it, it's so hot. Kind of dangerous," Bonnie said warningly, but with a smile at Ginny's reaction.

"I laugh in the face of danger, bwah-ha-ha-ha," he said loudly. Even Ginny smiled a little at this.

"Okay, mister Danger, go ahead and order it, but if you can't finish it, I reserve rights to say I told you so," his girlfriend said condescendingly with a mock snooty look on her face.

"I'll eat it all, and lick the bowl clean afterwards," Harry said challengingly. Ginny looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Bonnie watched with an amused grin.

"Deal, I say you can't finish it and lick the bowl clean by the time we have to leave. If I win, you have to buy me something, if you win…" Ginny thought for a moment not seeing Harry's smirk.

"If I win, I get to give you a big, wet kiss afterwards, _and_ sleep in the same bed as you tonight. There is no way I'm getting into the same bed as your brother ever again," he said. Ginny looked about to disagree but Bonnie cleared her throat.

"So, Volcanic Cobb, and the _Pastalava_?" Harry nodded. "Might I recommend ordering a bread basket? You can mop up the leftover sauce with that, instead of licking the bowl. But it's just a thought," she said smiling. They agreed and she went back to the kitchen to place the orders. Within ten minutes their appetizer tray was at their table. They had a fun time trying the different cocktails. Harry particularly hated Calamari, while Ginny surprised him by eating each piece, except the piece he tried and spat out.

Soon enough the salad's were at the table and they were eating.

"So, Gin, do you remember anything from last night?" Harry asked between bites.

"Well, I remember the shot that Jessie shared with us was really good. Pineapple cake or something like that. I also remember going inside and meeting someone with a spice or herb name. Paprika or Basil or something. She was laughing a lot. I think it was because I was singing," Ginny said thinking hard. Harry snorted.

"Why were you singing?" he asked.

"I had a song stuck in my head," she replied casually. They talked a bit more about the night before, neither remembering much after the first hour.

Soon they were talking about the Dursley's.

"Harry do you think you're ready for this? The last time you saw them you couldn't use your wand," she asked quietly. He thought for a few bites before answering.

"I remember Dudley's reaction to the fact that I wasn't going with them. It surprised me a lot that he was worried about me. There was no doubt in my mind that my uncle was very happy to be rid of me, he almost treated me like a human, but still couldn't make the last gesture of peace between us. Petunia, after seeing Snape's memories of her as a child, I understand more why she acts the way she does toward me. I have something that she wanted and couldn't have. All the hostility over the years toward me was a latent jealousy that she carried over from my mum to me." He paused for a moment with a look of astonishment on his face.

"Huh," he muttered. "Snape hated me because of my father, but helped me anyways. Petunia hated me because of my mum, but helped me anyways. My life is filled with these half-hearted relationships," he shook his head. Ginny took his hand.

"Harry, I know that this is going to be hard, but I love you, and so does the rest of my family. If they are bad to you when we get there, just remember this: you have no more obligations to them after this. Once they are back at their cookie cutter house, living their cookie cutter lives, you can forget them forever.

"But," she paused. "If they are nice to you, you could have a relationship with them. At least with Dudley if he's pleasant enough."

She didn't want to get his hopes up for a familial relationship with his abusive relatives but if Dudley showed promise before last year's split, then maybe after living for a year with wizards Dudley at least might have loosened up a bit.

Harry looked at her with a skeptical look while he took another bite of his salad.

"You know what I mean, Harry. Dudley's spent the last eleven months with a magical family, he might have changed. But don't get your hopes up too far, I could be grasping at straws."

"Here are your entrées. Seafood for the lady, and _Pastalava_ for Mister Danger here," said Bonnie as she set down each plate, and a large bowl of homemade bread loaf slices between them.

"Just flag me down for a refill on the drinks, you'll be needing them. Since this dish is so hot, anyone who orders it gets free refills for the rest of their meal. Would you two like to pre-order your desert now?" They decided to wait for the end of the meal to decide on desert. They didn't know how full they'd be.

Bonnie stood there watching Harry take his first bite. Ginny held off taking a bite of her fish to watch Harry. She noticed a few other waiters and a man in a white chef's outfit watching from afar. She smiled. This was one bet she was for sure going to win and she knew exactly what she wanted him to buy her later. She had seen an advert at the beauty store for an Aqua-Massage, on the third floor. It was out of her personal price range that she was willing to spend on herself. But Harry on the other hand could fork over some money for this, if he lost the bet.

Everyone, even people from other tables saw that this was a big deal, watched as Harry took a bite, chewed and swallowed. They waited with baited breath and counted silently. At roughly seven seconds Harry's eyes widened and he breathed in sharply with his open mouth. He reached over to grab his soda and started gulping. Everyone in the store started laughing loudly.

"Might I suggest," Bonnie said as she leaned over with a huge grin. "Eat some bread after every bite. Just a bite or two off a slice. It helps cool it down. The carbonation of the soda usually makes the burn worse," she chuckled as Harry stuffed a whole slice in his mouth and chewed furiously, his eyes watering, and his face slightly red.

Ginny was laughing loudly and silently apologizing to Ron for having to endure Harry later that night, but cheering for her stiff muscles from the night of partying.

Forty-five minutes later the two walked up to Hermione and Ron outside of Legoland.

"What happened to you two?" Ron asked when he saw Harry's beet red, sweaty smiling face and Ginny's sulking, disbelieving scowl.

"Never mind, Ronald. Just mind your own business," she muttered. Harry laughed loudly.

"She's sulking because I finished the _Pastalava_, and licked the bowl clean with three minutes to spare. She's just lucky I didn't die first from third degree burns inside my organs," he laughed. Ginny scowled and stormed into the Legoland entrance walking away. Hermione and Ron looked confused so Harry explained the Rainforest Café's spicy dish and his and Ginny's bet. They laughed along with him at her misfortune as they followed her around the Lego store.

"The best part was that because I could finish it, the meal was free. They said that anyone who put that much spice in their bodies in one sitting, should save their money for the antacid's they were going to need later," he chuckled. Hermione frowned.

"This is not going to be a pleasant night for Ginny. I think I'll help her out with a bubble head charm before bed," she said which caused Ron and Harry to burst out in raucous laughter.

Harry had explained the terms of the bet to the others, but afterwards Hermione pulled him to the side and told him what Ginny probably had her eye on if she had won. They made a deal that he would still buy her the massage since she'd gotten a really rotten deal by him winning. He pulled her off to the side and told her that when he and the others were playing a round of mini golf (Hermione guaranteed it was fun and really wanted to play) she was going to get a massage. She squealed and jumped up to hug him and then ran over to tell Hermione.

They all agreed that after they wandered through the Underwater Adventures they would go play mini golf so they headed over to the largest underground aquarium in the country.

After taking the escalator down a level, they paid for four day passes that covered everything, plus a behind the scenes pass, and wandered through the gift shop. On the other side was the entrance to the aquarium starting with the turtles.

"Harry look at that one, it's huge!"

"Awe, Ron. Look at the little baby turtles!"

The girls squealed and pointed while the guys studied a particularly beastly looking turtle called an Alligator Snapping turtle.

"I'd hate to cross that thing in the water," Harry muttered. Ron agreed emphatically.

"Be glad we don't have any in the lake at school," Ron chuckled. Harry looked horrified and back away from the tank.

They wandered through and into the Tunnel which was a seven foot high, clear tunnel that ran under and through the aquarium. They watched as sharks of all species and sea turtles and sting rays swam around them only inches from their finger tips. The four were speechless as they meandered through the three hundred foot long tunnel gaping at the thousands of sea creatures they were seeing.

They watched as several people in full scuba gear swam into view. A few divers made sure the others were safe from sharks while the others searched the bottom for shark teeth to sell in the gift shop. One of the divers swam over to the glass tunnel and placed his hand on the glass next to a small family.

"Mommy, is that Daddy?" asked a little girl.

"Yes it is, sweetie. See he's waving," replied the mother. The four watched as the mother raised the girl up and let her wave to her father. Ron and Harry shared a look and walked towards her.

"Excuse me, does your husband work here? Or is this like a special ticket kind of thing?" asked Ron.

"Hm, oh, no my husband doesn't work here, but he is a trained Scuba diver. If you have the certificate and most of the gear you can pay about two hundred dollars and dive with the sharks," she replied. Harry and Ron thanked her and walked back to the girls.

"I wish I could try that," Harry said wistfully as they watched the divers for several more minutes.

"Yeah, sure Harry, whenever you feel like it. It's not like you have had the most eventful life. You need some adventure, really, you're getting quite boring," Ron said sarcastically while the girls laughed. Harry gave him a mock glare.

"I'll have you know, I am quite adventurous. Didn't you hear about the _Pastalava_?" he asked. The others giggled and walked on after the divers left their sight.

The next stop on the Adventures was a ride called The Plunge. The ride was shaped like a giant yellow submarine. Inside was a very large movie screen and several smaller ones spread out like windows to the deep. Each one would show different views of the underwater oceans and different creatures and explain information about each animal or amphibian. The ride was roughly fifteen minutes and the group learned a lot, while also getting a bit motion sick from the rocking.

Next stop was Seahorse Kingdom, where they learned more about the seahorse than they ever expected to know. After that they strolled into a newer area that included a large circular pool. There were several people in uniform standing around the pool instruction people who were sticking their hands in the water.

As the foursome walked up to the pool they saw several Stingrays and baby sharks swimming around. The staff members were guiding people and teaching them how to respect the fish and their space. If a person wanted they were allowed to pet the fish and get a sticker that said I Pet a Shark!

Ron and Ginny were skeptical. They had never seen live sharks before their trip to the aquarium, but they had read enough about them to know that they bite, but Harry and Hermione petting them gave the two Weasley's the courage to stick a finger in the water. Once they saw that they weren't going to be bitten and lose a finger they found that the slimy feel to the skin was very cool to touch.

Each of the four left the Aquarium with stickers on their shirts and smiles on their faces.

After an hour of mini golf, and in Ginny's case a drool worthy massage, the four headed down to the theme park. After a quick walk around the park, they decided to skip the rides as Hermione had planned a trip to a different theme park called Valleyfair later in the week. They left the mall in a cab and headed back to the hotel with the plan that they would swim for an hour or two at the pool and then order room service for dinner.

"You know, for being out and about in two large shopping areas, we spent a lot of money on nothing," Ron said.

"Oh, I disagree Ron. We just survived a war, anything we buy right now that's completely frivolous is completely worth it. We deserve this trip, even if it's to get my pathetic relatives I intend on spending lots of money and having a great time. I know when we get back to Britain we're going to have to deal with grief and pain. I've dealt with that for so many years, I think I deserve a break. Even if it is just a temporary one," Harry said quietly. The others got sad looks on their faces as he realized what he brought up.

"Guys. Fred, Colin, Tonks, and Remus would have wanted us to have fun. I know that you guys are probably feeling a little guilty right now since it's only been two weeks, I know I've had my moments, but I'm finally starting to take the advice that so many have said to me in the past. They would have wanted us to move on, have fun, smile, laugh, and most of all…live. For the first time in almost two decades we're free. Free from tyranny, free from oppression, but most of all, we're free to live our lives the way we want too.

"I know it will take a while to over come the grief of loosing your brother, and I know you think of him several times a day. I see your faces in unguarded moments after sharing a laugh, you remember him and feel guilty because he's not here to share it with us. But…and I know this is kind of hypocritical of me to say since you have all been saying it to me for years now. But he would have wanted you to laugh and enjoy this freedom.

"Next week, we're going to be back in Britain and dealing with the aftermath. George will need us more than ever to get Weasley's Wizard Wheezes up and running again. Denis needs us. Teddy and Andromeda need me. Your parents will need you two. Plus, the trials, the restructuring of the Ministry, and the goblin fiasco…we deserve to enjoy this week. Remus, Tonks, Colin, and most of all Fred would not fault us for this."

Harry finished his mini speech and watched Ginny's eyes watering. Ron too looked like he wanted to let the tears fall. Without sharing so much of a glance Harry and Hermione went to their respective mates and cuddled with them. Ron and Ginny both cried on their shoulders, and Harry and Hermione shared in their grief.

The four fell asleep sometime around two in the morning after crying their eyes dry and in the arms of each other.

* * *

**A/N**: Awe such a touching ending. Tell me what you thought of the gangsters!!! They were so much fun to write! And the _Pastalava_ scene.

I'm taking some liberties with the mall. Some stores I know probably weren't around in 1998, but I can't for the life of me find a detailed map of the mall from '98 or a list of stores. I also couldn't find out when Underwater Adventures opened. So I'm just using it as part of the mall as it was then. I'm sorry if it bothers anyone that I'm doing it that way. I try and stay as close to the right timeline as possible.

**Must read: **On another note, **Anyone who wants me to send an update to you when I load a new chapter, PM me (or email me directly) an email address for you.** I'll make a list and make sure whenever I update, I'll send you an email letting you know of the new chapters. I know that there is an Author/story alert, but you have to be a member to be able to use it, and I have been getting more and more "anonymous" reviews so this is a good faith gesture to my 'anonymous' reviewers.

**Chelsea**: You're review was very touching, thank you! It made my head swell that you think I write as well as JKR! I'm so glad you like the story!

**Emilio Rivera, h., **and **rr**, thanks for reviewing. I'm not going to go into detailed review replies for everyone who reviewed but I will say thanks. This a/n has gotten obscenely long.

_**Please Review!**_


	28. Rats and Restorations

**Author's Note**: Wow this chapter took me a while. Sorry I took so long everyone. I've been trying my hand at another story that attacked me with a rabid plot bunny. Its shorter chapters are easier for me to write (and edit). I get more chapters out faster. It already has more views and reviews than this story! Check it out.

This stories chapters will be coming out slowly and I apologize for that. I do promise, wholeheartedly, that I WILL finish this story. It's just taking a long time. That and I recently printed the first 10 chapters so my mom could read them…when I read through them on a hard copy I was like…wow, I sucked at writing the first few chapters! The quality has just totally improved since then, at least I think.

I really enjoy this story, but the long chapters and hardcore angsty/emotional plot is kind of hard on me. (I've lost 4 people this year to death – two sudden deaths, two expected – and one friend attempted suicide. Thankfully he didn't succeed and is now getting help.) so the plot line is getting more and more relatable to me, sadly. I will try and post every once in a while, but I started a new semester in college, hopefully it's my last for this degree and then I'll be moving on to a bachelors in fine arts.

What I'm trying to say is, this story is slowing down a lot and to not give up on me! I have chapter 29 started, so don't worry about that. Petunia is giving me a lot of problems…she's very hard for me to write. I'm also spending more time writing my other story, Surprise!, and that's getting more of my attention because I intend it to be shorter (in words) than this one. I need it out of the way then I can focus on this one.

If there are any questions leave them in a review (unless you are an unsigned reviewer then PM/email me, my email is on my profile.)

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**Rats and Restorations**

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The four teens woke up late the next morning and quickly decided that a day in the room was what they needed. They had a lot of stimulation the day before taking in two large areas for shopping and entertainment that a day of relaxation was in order.

Besides, Harry was planning on meeting up with his relatives later in the evening and he felt that he needed some mental space from the world before coming in contact with his 'family.'

Harry looked up a movie on the TV for them to watch. After a few minutes of searching he found Jurassic Park. It was just starting and the opening was intriguing enough that he and Ron were drawn in. The girls soon tired of the movie and decided to try out the sauna down by the pool. Harry and Ron waved them off just as the first actor died by dinosaur attack.

"Boys," Hermione scoffed with a slight smile. Ginny snickered as the door shut behind her.

An hour an a half later the girls return to find Harry's eyes glued to the screen sitting at the end of the bed a meter from the screen, eyes wide, mouth open, and he was clutching a pillow in his lap.

Ron on the other hand was sitting on the floor in the corner with his head behind a pillow and his eyes poking out, wide and unblinking.

Both boys failed to notice the girls' return and their accompanying amusement. They waited for a commercial before they said anything.

"Hey guys," Ginny said suddenly, after the commercial started. Both boys jumped a mile high.

"Sweet Merlin, Ginny! Don't do that!" Harry said after his picked himself off the floor where he had landed. Hermione and Ginny were both laughing very hard after seeing the great Boy-Who-Lived fall off the bed after being snuck up on. Ron peeked his head over the edge of the bed where he had dove and tried to climb under.

"That was so not cool Ginny," he muttered.

"So how was the movie?" asked Hermione with a smile.

"It's not over yet, hence the jumping," Harry said wryly. Just then the movie came back on and the boys were entranced once more. Hermione and Ginny took turns showering the chlorine off and getting dressed. Hermione pulled out a book from her rucksack and started reading while Ginny looked at Harry's books he had bought the day before.

When the movie was over Ron looked at Harry and asked a question.

"Now, the Muggles are very positive that those monsters are extinct right, Harry?" Harry chuckled as did Hermione.

"Well, you know Ron, they think dragons and fairies are extinct also," he replied with a smile. Ron's eyes got wide as he looked at his girlfriend.

"Hermione, you've read Hagrid's textbook, do dinosaurs still exist?" he asked with a squeak. She smiled and took pity on him. She remembered watching Jurassic Park for the first time after third year.

"No Ron, dinosaurs are completely extinct," she replied. Ron threw his pillow at Harry with so much force that Harry fell off the bed again.

"You tosser, telling me it was a real story. You are such a git," he yelled. Harry was laughing too hard to pick himself up. Ginny rolled her eyes.

"So what are we going to do today, just sit here?" she asked.

"Yeah, I think we need a day to just be lazy, not do anything," Harry replied.

So they all spent several hours reading, napping, eating room service, and watching more movies. The boys enjoyed the sequel to Jurassic Park, The Lost World. Ginny read up on Animagus and how to become one. She wasn't positive, but she thought it would be an interesting challenge to try out in her spare time while studying for NEWTs.

Hermione read more about Love magic and how to use it to advance a person's spells. She even tried it out a few times on her Patronus with slightly visible results in her otter becoming more solid and slightly more brighter.

Eight o'clock rolled around and the foursome was ready to leave. Their plan was to arrive at the house at half past eight, after the dinner hour, but early enough not to rouse tempers. They were to get in, make sure the Dursley's knew they were in town, and what day they were leaving and when, and then leave for the hotel.

Harry knew the Dursley's were living at a wizard family's house so he didn't want to start an argument with his aunt and uncle if he didn't have too. But he wasn't going to let them walk all over him. If he had to he'd cast Muffliato so no one could hear, but the plan was no yelling and he made a promise to himself to follow it.

The taxi ride to Station 4 was fairly quick and the Floo ride to Middleton Magics was uneventful. They walked out the door and into a small town square. Middleton Magics was a tiny shop with boarded windows and no sign that the Muggles could see. Very much like the Leaky Cauldron.

They emerged onto a street called Mini Main Alley and they could see it was just a glorified alley way just large enough for a small dump truck to drive through. More than anything it just looked like it was the back doors to all the small shops and stores in town. Middleton it seemed was a very small town. Its business sector was a square just two city blocks long on each side, and alleys running through it like a cross.

Harry and his friends walked down the alley toward civilization and appeared in East Main St. next to a large grocery store. They looked around until they saw a group of teens and headed for them.

"Excuse me, could you tell us how to get to…Perry Lane?" asked Harry. The group looked at him and his friends.

"Why?" asked the smallest girl. She had bright blonde hair with brown and red streaks through it.

"Er, well, my relatives live there and I was told to ask around for directions if I get lost. Do you know where it is?" he asked again. The small group of Muggle teens looked at each other.

"What will you do for us if we tell you?" asked the girl.

"Never mind, we'll find someone else," Hermione said as she pulled Harry and the others away.

"Well, _excuse_ me," the girl said with an attitude as the rest of her group walked the other way.

Soon the Brits found someone to give them directions and they were headed toward Perry Lane.

As they passed a small park in the residential area they head a shout.

"Leave him alone!" yelled a female voice. Harry heard more shouts and turned. He could see approximately five people surrounding another on the ground with a smaller person standing a few feet away trying to break through the circle. Another couple people were sitting on the swings a dozen feet away watching.

Several of the ones standing were kicking and punching the one on the ground and the small group with Harry could hear someone moaning and the girl who had shouted crying for them to stop. He picked up a few stones from the ground and Transfigured them into beater bats and handed one to each of his friends.

"Hermione, Ginny you two make sure the ones on the swings don't leave. Everyone, use magic only if you have too. Ron come on," he muttered quickly. They ran up to the group and shouted.

"Hey!" This caused the standing group to pause and see who was coming. When all they saw were two scrawny boys, one with glasses, they all laughed.

"You think you're so scary with your bats? Oh, I'm shaking in my tennis shoes," said one boy.

"Hey, it's those two boys from earlier who wanted directions. I see you found your way to Perry Lane, but where are your girls? They ditch you?" asked a familiar girl with blonde hair with colorful streaks.

"Nope, they left to go call the cops. We're here to make sure you idiots don't leave," Harry replied. The girl who had screamed broke through the group and got to the boy on the ground.

"Oh my God, he's hurt. Jay come on, wake up," she said as she shook him. He groaned. The group of bullies shared a glance. Five on two seemed easy enough so they headed towards the group when another voice rent the air.

"Harry? Is that you?" a male voice asked with an accent. A small gasp right after cause Harry to look towards the swing. He saw Hermione and Ginny standing next to a small, black haired girl and a blonde, husky boy with wide eyes. Hermione, the one standing next to the boy, had gasped when she realized who she was guarding.

Dudley Dursley stood up from his swing and walked towards Harry. Ginny spoke quietly to the girl and she nodded then stood up and ran towards the nearby houses. Hermione and Ginny followed Dudley towards Harry and Ron.

Suddenly, it wasn't such an odd numbered fight and was five on five.

The group of bullies realized this at the same time and decided such an even fight they wanted no part of and started to back away.

While this was happening, Ginny was whispering to Harry.

"I told the girl to run get help. She asked if you were Harry Potter, and I told her yes, she said she'd get the right people to come. We can use magic if we have too," she said quickly. He nodded and Hermione was telling Ron the same thing. He saw the group backing away and yelled Stupefy. The others quickly catching on also yelled the stunning spell at the group while Harry took out the last one with a second stunner to the back. The girl on the ground next to Jay, the boy who had been beaten, looked up at them, terrified. Hermione, deciding she was too big of a risk, stunned her also. Jay being knocked out, hadn't seen anything.

"Wow, that's really handy," Dudley muttered. Harry snorted.

"Against five Muggle teenagers, it's nothing. Try going against a group of Magical adults, trained in how to block the spell, it's a teeny bit harder," he said drolly. "Ron tie them up and Hermione, do your thing. Ginny check on that kid over there, see if he's okay," he said to the others. He turned to Dudley and took him in for the first time in almost a year.

Living with wizards seemed to have a weird effect on his cousin. Dudley was much thinner, almost all his bulk was muscles now. Granted he probably didn't have a six pack, but he wasn't what you could call fat now. His hair was shaggy and about four inches longer than what his father had allowed in Surrey, which meant his hair was about five inches long. He was even wearing small wire framed glasses.

"Dudley, how are you?" he asked. Dudley had been taking in Harry's appearance at the same time.

Harry himself hadn't noticed but in the last year of living off of mushrooms and roots he had gotten very thin and weedy looking. During the several encounters with Ministry officials, dragons, and dark lords he had acquired several new scars on his arms, neck, and face. He also had a hardened look about him. If it hadn't been dark out, Dudley was sure that the group of bullies would never have thought about messing with the British stranger. His hair was also just about long enough to be put in a pony-tail in the back.

"I'm okay, I guess. I was a little worried about that kid, but I couldn't take on that whole group. So I didn't know what to do before you came along. Are they going to be alright?" he asked as he saw Hermione doing the memory charms on them.

"Er, yeah, if anyone asks, we didn't use magic on them. Hermione is modifying their memories so they don't remember what we yelled. If anyone asks, we tackled them from behind and tied them up," Harry walked over and severed the rope on a swing and made the rope vanish. "We used the rope from a broken swing," he said winking at his cousin.

Just as Hermione finished up the last girl, next to the beaten boy, they all heard running footsteps.

The black haired girl who was with Dudley came running up with a man, and two women. All the adults had their wands out.

"Dudley, what's going on here, who are these people and who are those kids on the ground," asked the man. Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood off to the side. Ginny was still working on the boy.

"Um, I don't mean to be a bother, but this boy is looking worse and worse," she said drawing attention to the injured boy. The two women knelt by him and waved their wands a few times. One of them gasped.

"Stacie, run home and call nine-one-one, tell them a boy was beaten badly and needs medical attention fast, give them the directions here, quick," she said. The other woman Enervated the girl next to the boy and started asking her questions about him. While all this was happening Dudley was informing the man on what had happened quietly. Harry was standing nearby.

"Dudley, is he cool? Can we trust him?" he asked. Dudley nodded and Harry joined in explaining the memory changes and the real story to the man. Two minutes later they could hear sirens getting closer. A police car and an ambulance pulled up to the park and EMT's were running towards them while another cop car drove toward Stacie's house.

All wands disappeared and Harry pulled Dudley back towards his friends.

"Dudley, no magic talk, alright?" Dudley gave him a weird look.

"Obviously," he muttered.

They all waited while the man, Dudley called him Jason, told the police what had happened. After twenty minutes of questions and talking, the five bullies were marched off to the police cars and arrested. Jay and the girl had rode off in the ambulance after the initial check to see if he was alive and breathing.

Once all the official adults had left, the group of Brits and Americans walked back to their house in silence.

Jason held the door while all nine of them walked into a medium sized living room. A man was sitting holding a baby while a young boy sat on the couch with a younger girl, and they were watching a movie. The man looked up and saw the group enter and stood up.

"So, was it that one group of punks it always is?" he asked.

"Yep, and thanks to this group they were all arrested," replied Jason as he sat next to the little girl.

"Really now?" asked the man with a smirk. Then he looked over at the women and gasped.

"Becca! Is that blood?" he asked quietly as he walked over to the brown haired woman who had told Stacie to run and call for help.

"Don't worry Todd, it's from the boy who got beat up. He had to leave in an ambulance, I helped with medical assistance until they got there," she said quickly.

"Come on, Becca, lets get you a clean shirt," said the other woman. They two of them left and the man handed the baby he was holding to Stacie who then sat in the middle of the floor with her. Jason gestured to the other man, Dudley and the Brits to follow him. They ended up in the kitchen.

"I'll be right back, sit tight," he said as he ran to the stairs and yelled up them.

"Daisy, we'll be in the kitchen, we're waiting," he said and came back into the kitchen. He pulled out a chair and sat down next to Dudley.

"So, I take it you four are the ones who have come for Dudley here?" he asked. Harry nodded.

"Yes, I'm Dudley's cousin, Harry," he replied.

"I must say, they sent you over here really fast. I didn't expect anyone to be able to pick up the Dursley's for at least a month after the end of the war," Jason said just as the two women entered the room. They each conjured up a chair and sat down.

"Let's get introductions finished first Jason. I'm Daisy, this is my husband Jason. We're the ones who took in the Dursley's. This is Todd and Becca Kilinger our next door neighbors, they took in Stacie and her sister," Daisy said quickly.

The Brits introduced themselves as Daisy served everyone Iced Tea.

"So, did you guys all just get into Minnesota today?" asked Dudley.

"No, we've been here for a few days. The day you got the letter was our first day. We were told to give you a few days to get used to the idea…Where's Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon? Shouldn't they be here for this also?" asked Harry. The adults all chuckled, as did Dudley.

"April? Come in here for me," shouted Daisy into the other room. A little girl came running.

"Yes mommy?" she asked sweetly.

"Could you go get Pinkie and Greenie for me, bring them in here?" she asked the little girl who nodded and ran off. About thirty seconds later she came back in the room carrying pink and green rats. She handed them to her mom.

"Can I go back to the movie? George was just about to get to New York," asked April. She was told to go ahead and she skipped back to her movie. Daisy set the rats on the table and pointed to them.

"Petunia and Vernon," she said briefly. Harry stared at the rats with his mouth open and eyes wide. His friends watched him for his reaction.

Suddenly he burst out laughing. For several long minutes he laughed hysterically. Dudley smiled at him as did the adults. Hermione was shocked, while Ron and Ginny both laughed along with him.

"Do I even want to know what they did to deserve this?" he finally asked when he could breathe again.

"I believe it was the word freak, used very abundantly, that convinced them to do it," Dudley said. Jason and Daisy nodded.

"Yes, they have been renamed Pinkie and Greenie, and have been April's pets for the last eight months." This set off Harry once again and it took a few minutes for him to calm down again.

"Dad's the pink one," Dudley said with a smirk, and once again set off Harry. This time Ron and Ginny laughed as well.

"Wow, and I was actually a little worried about coming here tonight," Harry said. "Can we leave them this way until it's time to leave?" Jason and Daisy exchanged looks.

"Actually, we think it would be better if we change them back now. They are needed to sign the papers for Dudley to leave school, as his parents, and tomorrow is Dudley's last day at school. We also feel that they should be the ones to pack their own stuff," replied Jason. Both rats squeaked drawing the attention of everyone.

"I guess we should probably take Stacie and Shiloh back with us now. Do you want us to take Sage and April too?" asked Becca. Daisy thought about it and nodded.

"Just a moment. Sage, April come in here please," she yelled again. The two kids came running and stopped short seeing the Brits there.

"Is Dudley leaving?" asked the boy softly. The girl looked from her brother to her parents to Dudley and the new people before starting to cry.

"Are Pinkie and Greenie going buh-bye?" she whimpered sadly. Harry snorted but covered it up quickly after Ginny elbowed him in the ribs.

"Yes, dear they are leaving but not for a day or two. But it's time to say goodbye to Pinkie and Greenie, they are going buh-bye today and Vernon and Petunia are coming back," said Daisy. April sniffled and walked forward and picked up the pink rat.

"You were my favorite ever, Pinkie. I'm gonna miss you," she said sadly and gave the rat a quick kiss on the nose. Vernon, the pink rat, shied away from her as she set him back down. She only gave the green rat a pat on the head and said she'd miss her too just not as much as Pinkie. The adults were trying very hard not to burst out laughing.

"Come on sweetie, you guys are going to stay with Becca and Todd tonight. Let's go get packed," said their mother. As she led her daughter out she looked back for her son.

"Dudley, are you leaving tonight? Will I see you again tomorrow?" he asked the older boy.

"Yeah, I still got one day left of school, and then I'll be back to pack my stuff. You'll see me again, Sage," replied Dudley. The boy looked marginally happier and followed his mom up the stairs.

The three adults chit-chatted while the youngsters were packed up leaving the teens to sit in semi awkward silence.

"What day are we leaving?" asked Dudley trying to talk to his cousin.

"Sunday," replied Harry shortly.

"Where are you guys staying?" he asked.

"A hotel in St. Paul," said Hermione. Dudley realized that Harry didn't want to talk, so he stopped trying. Stacie walked into the room carrying the little baby.

"So, what's going on?" she asked. They could all see her red eyes. Dudley stood up and gave her his chair, and took the baby from her while he leaned on the counter.

"Well, I'm not leaving right away, Sunday is the day," he said quietly as he bounced the baby. Harry stared at the two, realization coming to him.

"Dudley, is that kid yours?" he asked somewhat loudly. The green rat suddenly started squeaking repeatedly and very loudly. Hermione silenced her and watched Dudley's face go from confused to dawning comprehension and then to humorous.

"No, this is Stacie, and her sister Shiloh, who is nine months old," he said with a chuckle.

Just then Daisy and the two kids returned. Todd stood and took Shiloh from Dudley while Becca walked with the kids out the kitchen door.

"It was nice to meet you guys. Congrats on winning the war by the way," said Becca as she walked out. Todd nodded to them all.

"Stacie, if you want to stay go ahead, but don't sleep over, your parents probably wouldn't like that. Let's say midnight curfew," he said. She nodded and stayed sitting. Harry conjured up another chair for Dudley and he sat next to Stacie, leaving two empty chairs for the two rats.

Jason and Daisy took the two rats and set them on the ground and pointed their wands at them.

"_Amoveo vos tergum ut humanus vultus_," they said together. The two rats started to grow and morph back into human shape. After several seconds Vernon and Petunia Dursley were standing in the kitchen looking around as humans again.

-Meanwhile in London-

"Molly, you said something about Doxies in the Master bedroom?" asked Fleur. The younger woman wiped the sweat and grime from her elegant forehead with the top of her wrist.

"Yes, but we'll deal with them later. I haven't gotten the Venom antidote yet, and I refuse to let anyone try and rid those without it," replied Molly as she stretched and cracked her back.

"Alright, Bill and I can take care of them later then. Is there anything else you need from me before I go home?" asked the Veela-woman. Molly looked at her daughter in law and sighed.

"No, I think we're done for today. Three rooms, two coats each and a loo. We got so much done today, I think we can handle anything else here tonight. Harry's going to be so surprised when they get back," said Molly with a small smile.

"Is Andromeda visiting tomorrow with little Teddy?" asked Fleur with a sad smile.

"Yes, we got so much done today, I feel safe letting a baby come here. But, they'll only be visiting for about two hours. We can still get some more work done tomorrow. You and Bill can do the Doxies, while Jane and I finish the hallway and stairwell," said Molly softly. The two woman spoke of other things that they wanted to accomplish while they headed down to the kitchen together.

Before the four teens left for America, the adults decided that Grimmauld Place needed a make-over. So as soon as the teens had left, Molly and Arthur met Bill, Fleur, and the Granger adults at the dark house and designated jobs. Molly, Fleur, and the Grangers would spend the day painting, while Bill and Arthur worked during the day and helped with handy work, like removing certain elf heads and portraits off the wall, at night.

Molly and Fleur looked around the changed kitchen with pride. The dark walls were now a creamy, pastel yellow. All the wood work on the counters, doors, and the large table were now dark cherry wood. The floor was polished to its black marble shiny-ness.

A few small paintings littered the walls, and bric-a-brac covered the mantel of the Floo. All the old rusty pots and pans that had once hung on the ceiling were gone and replaced with shiny new ones. The china cabinet still held Black family china, but it was all polished and arranged neatly and the glass fronts wiped clean.

Almost nine months of disuse, with Kreacher flitting off back to Hogwarts when his master didn't return, had left Grimmauld Place in a bad way. The one day cleaning the teens gave it a couple weeks before only covered the kitchen, Drawing room, bathrooms, and several bedrooms and even then only basic cleaning spells.

The adults thought it would be a good idea to help Harry out while he was gone. Besides the fact that the Darkness of the house creeped out the Grangers.

In one day, Molly, Fleur, Michael, and Jane painted the kitchen, the entrance hall, and a bathroom on the ground floor. That night the men, sans Michael, removed the elf heads off the wall lining the stairs. They were forced to remove parts of the wall behind the heads, but it was easily fixed with a handy spell in a Wizarding construction book found at Flourish and Blotts that conjured drywall and the supplies to fix the holes.

The next day they had the formal dinning hall, the hallway leading up the first staircase, a small bathroom, and upstairs hallway done in bright pastel colors or white. The tricky problem no one could solve was the wall sized tapestry in the Drawing room. It was too big for the construction spell if they removed the tapestry and the wall, but they couldn't paint underneath it while it was up. They finally decided to leave it up, paint the other three walls, and let Harry decide when he returned.

So that night the six adults attacked the Drawing room with a passion. Walls were painted a golden color with white crown molding around the room by the ceiling. All the furniture was stoutly sanded and re-stained to a dark brown walnut color. The floor was a dark wood as well but mostly covered by a large oriental rug, surprisingly with deep burgundies, golds, and plums in it. The furniture was changed to white with burgundy throw pillows.

Nearing midnight the three, exhausted couples separated and went to their own homes in the cases of the two Weasley couples.

The third day, the same day the teens spent the whole day in the hotel room vegging out, Fleur and Molly had spent several hours working on the three third floor bedrooms once occupied by the twins, Remus, and the Weasley parents. Included in the third floor restorations was the bathroom.

"Well, Molly, I theenk we 'ave done a marvelous job so far. 'Zis place is becoming more and more like a home for Harry," Fleur said softly. "E will be so surprised."

"I agree dear. How are you feeling. This must have been a lot of stress on you and the baby. All this working and stretching and bending? Are you sure you should be doing all of this?" asked Molly. Fleur nodded.

"_Oui_, Molly. I am a strong woman. My body can 'andle all of this. At least I theenk it can. I feel no ill feelings as of yet," said the younger woman. The two sat in companionable silence as they sipped their tea. Their men would be home soon and they were planning a night of rest and relaxation in the newly finished Drawing room. Jane and Michael were going to teach them all poker.

"Molly, 'ow are you doing? With Fred's death?" asked Fleur carefully. It hadn't escaped the younger woman's notice the last few days that Molly had been working herself to near exhaustion before heading home to sleep. The night before, she was so tired she had to Floo home since Arthur didn't want to risk Apparition. Yet Molly had shown up at Grimmauld Place first, bright and early, even before the Grangers had woken up.

"Oh Fleur," Molly sighed her eyes watering. "I just can't believe he's gone. He was so full of life. I can't imagine how George is really handling it, but every time I go over to the shop, he's not there. He might just not be answering his door. But Verity assures me that he's being cared for. There's always someone at the shop if he needs them, but I just can't help remembering that day at the castle when my baby almost…" Molly stopped as she choked back a sob. Fleur reached over the table and held her mother-in-laws hand while she tried to maintain composure.

"I'm so worried about George. I just don't know what to do. What with Ron and Ginny with Harry, I'm left with nothing to do and an empty house to stare at. I woke up from a nightmare this morning and found myself sitting in their room on Fred's bed. I wasn't crying, just sitting there, remembering the day I found out I was having twin boys."

"I remember you saying that they were going to be just like your brothers. Mischievous and wild. That was the day we decided to name them Fred and George," said Arthur from the doorway. Molly smiled at the memory.

"Boy did you nail it on the nose Mum. Wild and Mischievous and they weren't even the size of an apple yet," replied Bill with a soft chuckle.

"Not yet the size of an apple, but they still were causing me problems. I had heartburn that stretched to my kneecaps for weeks. By then, they were big enough to kick. I don't think my kidneys ever recovered fully. Thank Merlin that Ron was an easy pregnancy," she said, smiling.

They all sat and talked for a little while and ate dinner that Kreacher insisted on cooking for them all. He refused Molly or Jane's help so they shared stories until a sumptuous roast beef with a side of roast potatoes and carrots appeared in front of them.

Once they were all done eating they all headed up to the Drawing room. Bill had learned how to play poker from a roommate at Hogwarts, but he was a little rusty. Instead of betting money they bet peppermint humbugs or every flavor beans. The night was enjoyable for everyone and around midnight yawns were catching and traveling from person to person.

"I think it's time for bed. I'm just too old to be staying up till the wee hours of the morning. Arthur?" Molly said as she stood up. Arthur stifled another yawn and also stood up.

"I agree, especially two night in a row. Bill, Fleur we'll see you two tomorrow?" he asked.

"Yeah. Fleur and I are going to be getting rid of the Doxies in the curtains upstairs," replied Bill. Fleur was stretching and yawned widely.

Everyone bade their goodnights and went their separate ways.

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_amoveo vos tergum ut humanus vultus_ = shift you back to human form; i use very literal terms and then use a latin translator online. so any errors in the sentance, i'm sorry i just typed it in English, then clicked a button.

A/n: My French accents aren't very good but i tried. Also, i noticed a time continuity error i made in an earlier chapter. It will have to be righted in the next few chapters and it wont be pleasent, but bear with me when it happens. If you've noticed it, let me know what you think i'll do to fix it. It's not very noticable. Please review, they lighten my spirit and usually motivate me to write and post faster. **Book Freak** is to thank for this chapter, I got their review yesterday and it made me smile! So REVIEW!


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